For Every Mistake
by flawlesspeasant
Summary: Demi made a huge mistake when she was younger. Now, she would like to fix her mistake, but what happens if it's already too late to fix what she's done?
1. Selfish

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the general plot of the story. I do not own the characters in the story, I do not own their identities, and nothing I say or put into the story is a direct reflection omy the true identities of my characters. I do not claim anything I say or put into the story to be true. I do not claim to own anything but the plot and the idea of the story.

* * *

Ever since I was younger, my mom's taught me to never regret a single thing you've done. She's

taught me to learn from the mistakes I've made and try my damnedest to never replicate those mistakes. Up until now, every mistake I've made was able to teach me something.

Telling a lie to my dad and getting caught taught me not to lie. Spending all my money on booze and marijuana every weekend then getting slapped in the face with reality taught me how to slow down on partying. Even the extreme of losing my virginity to my first boyfriend at fourteen taught me to be careful with whom I give it up to. So far, the mistakes I've made have been big, but tiny enough to teach me a lesson.

But I don't know if there's really a lesson to learn behind this one. And I don't know if I can learn anything from it. The most I can do with this mistake is fix it.

But what if it's too big to even be fixed?

Then what do I do?

* * *

**-PRESENT DAY, LATE 2010-**

I stayed up all night last night thinking about the right way to go about this. I've been thinking about it for months now, to be honest. But last night is when I finally found the courage to do it.

You ever have that moment where you're thinking about something scary for a really long time, and then finally you find the courage within yourself to do it? And you realize that you have to act on impulse, because if you don't do it within the time span that you're feeling brave enough to do it, you probably won't ever do it. So you have to do it now.

I have to do it now. I have to do it while I feel confident enough. I just hope my parents understand. And if they don't understand, then that's okay too. I'm eighteen. I can do it anyway.

I really hope that I'm right about this. I think I am, but I don't really know. I think this is going to benefit us in the future. I'd really like to think that it will. I hope I'm not acting out of strict impulse on this. I can't be selfish. That's one thing that I can't do. And while it will make me happy, I have to know that it'll make everyone involved happy, too. I have to think about more than one person now, and my decisions don't affect only me.

When I wake up from my restless sleep, the first thing I do is stare at the clock. I always look at the clock first thing in the morning. I do it, because I'm on a very strict schedule. And if I want to wake up and do something, I have to hurry up and find some free time in my schedule. I can't mess up the schedule. I just can't do it. If I do, the results can be pretty bad for the rest of the day.

The clock reads 9:32 in the morning. I'd like to go back to sleep for an hour, but the schedule won't let me. The schedule won't let me, because it's Wednesday and Wednesdays are my days to load the dishwasher and make everyone breakfast. I'm running on my family's schedule while following my own.

When we were in California, I didn't even have to follow a family schedule. I was so carefree. I had all the time in the world to just do whatever made me happy. But after I made my…mistake, we moved back home to Texas. My mother says that we moved back, because "Demi is messing up" and time away from my "bad influences" will do me very well. At the time, I didn't think I messed up that badly. But in retrospect, I can see that I did. And Texas is the best place for me right now. Being a normal family is what's best for me and everyone else involved. I do miss singing and acting and songwriting, but it's just one of the many sacrifices I had to make at the expense of my mistake.

I really hate using the word mistake, I might add. I don't think it was a mistake. It wasn't on purpose. It was an accident. But a mistake, it wasn't. I hate when my parents call it a mistake. But I suppose a mistake is what it actually was.

I climb out of my bed, careful not to make any noise. I slide on my slippers and shut my bedroom door softly. I can't make any noise whatsoever. If I do, she wakes up, and I'm finished. I slowly and quietly walk down the creaky wooden steps and round the corner to the kitchen. I flick the switch to turn the lights on and head to the dishwasher. I open the door of it and look inside. There are no dishes in the dishwasher or the sink. Someone must've done my chores for me. I should just start on breakfast. I'll thank my savior later.

I open up the fridge and look inside. I don't know what everyone would want to breakfast today. I have to be mindful of what doesn't get eaten. Madison doesn't like bananas, so no banana pancakes. Dallas doesn't like French toast, so no French toast. My mom prefers scrambled eggs, and my dad prefers sunny-side up. Everyone is difficult. I'd settle for a bowl of Cheerios, to be honest.

Maybe plain pancakes and bacon will go over pretty well. I grab eggs and milk from the fridge and grab the frozen bacon out of the freezer.

I open the microwave to defrost the bacon, but inside the microwave, there's already a plate of pancakes in there. Who did all my chores for me?

I grab the paper plate of pancakes out of the microwave. There are only four of them on there, so everyone else must've already eaten.

"You're welcome."A soft, melodious voice says from behind me.

I turn around sharply. "You did all my chores for me?"

"Yeah. I saw that you were up pretty late last night…figured you'd like to sleep in." She props herself up on the counter and sits. Her long, dark brown hair dangles at her sides and curls in at the ends.

"Thank you, Dal. I was up late…" I lean against the counter and grab a strand of her hair. I wrap it around my finger and pull.

"I know. I came home at like… 4:30 and you were still awake." She runs her hands through my thick hair too. "What were you doing up so late?"

"Thinking and stuff. Plus, it took me forever to get her to go back to bed." I sigh and look up at her. Sometimes, when I look at Dallas, it's like looking into a mirror. Other times, she makes me feel so ugly that I can't even look her in her face. I think she's so pretty that it hurts. "What were you doing, coming in a 4:30?"

"I was just over my friend's house. We watched movies and stuff." She swings her feet and looks down nonchalantly.

"Which means you hooked up with him. That's what… three times this week?" I spring up from the counter and look at her. That's the only bad thing about Dallas. I can go from extremely happy to extremely pissed off with her in a matter of seconds.

"…It's four. And what's it matter to you, Demi?" She matches my disgusted tone.

"Four times this week and it's only Wednesday. My problem is that you don't even…. Nevermind. You do whatever you want." I roll my eyes. It's pointless to ever try to tell Dallas anything about anything. She's a know-it-all, and that irritates the absolute shit out of me.

"I'm twenty two years old, Demi. What I do in my personal life has nothing to do with you. It's really not your business."

"I know you're "grown", Dallas. I said nevermind. Just drop it already." I could really slap her in her face right now. I roll my eyes at her and grab a can out of the cupboard.

"What does it even matter to you? I can do whatever I want…." She refuses to drop the topic.

"It doesn't matter to me. I just think you're stupid." I retort, pulling the blue lid off the can and digging around to find the scooper.

Dallas snickers in a bitchy fashion and rolls her eyes at me. "I'm not as stupid as you were, Demi. You don't have to worry about that."

I grab a liner from the drawer and scoop three tablespoons of the white, powdery, grainy substance into it. "Having sex with some guy four times in one week isn't stupid? And we ALL know how you feel about condoms, Dallas. And you don't think you're dumb?"

"No. I'm smart enough to go to a clinic and get birth control, which is something you clearly couldn't do." She takes a low blow at me. I won't lie, that kind of stung.

"Why are you worried about me? We're talking about you. But if you insist that we talk about me, let's. I've learned my lesson." I pour some purified water into the liner and hook it into an actual bottle.

"You're way too selfish to be a mom, Demi." She mutters.

"I'm not selfish! What do you mean I'm selfish?!" I raise my voice a little before I remember that the baby monitor in the kitchen works both ways so I have to tone it down.

"You don't think that what you did to mom isn't selfish? You need a reality check." She hops down from the counter and walks out of the kitchen.

I'm half tempted to throw something at the back of her head. I really am tempted to. But I won't. I shake the bottle up to mix it properly and run it under hot water to warm it up.

"Your sister is crying, Demi. Hurry up with the bottle." Dallas makes a mockery of the word "sister." I really just want to kill her.

I check the time. Damn it, I am a little late with it. I dry the bottle off on my shirt and rush upstairs with it. As soon as I hit the top of the steps, I hear the loud, irritated cries coming from my bedroom.

"I'm coming… I'm coming. Calm down… calm down." I make my voice nicer than how I feel at the moment. I talk to her in a playful, friendly baby voice.

She doesn't stop crying, though. She keeps screaming loud. Everyone else seems to get annoyed with her cries, but I don't mind them. They don't bother me.

I grab a bib from my top drawer and finally pick her up in my arms. "I'm sorry. I know, I'm late." I support her head on my forearm and sit down on my bed. She puts her hand up on the base of the bottle and holds it as I hold onto it too. She sucks so hard and hungrily on the bottle that it bobs sharply in my hand.

I love my little sister so much—a little too much for her to be my little sister. "There we go… there we go. I'm sorry." I look down at her and she looks back up at me. When we lock eyes, my heart melts.

Her eyes are really big and very round. They're bright and they're dark green, almost brown; just like my mom's. Her nose is the same shape as mine and her nostrils mirror someone else's. Her cheeks are chubby and they have dimples in them when she smiles, just like mine do. Her lips are tiny and very full, but her top lip quivers over her bottom lip, like Madison's used to when she was a baby. Her chin mirrors mine with the slight dimple in the bottom of it. Her eyebrows are thick like both mine and Dallas's, and they spin off in a thousand different directions.

"You were so hungry, weren't you?" I softly stroke my hand across her head. Her hair is soft and shiny, just like cornsilk. It's a dark shade of brown and it grows thicker in the middle than it does on the sides.

Disturbing the quiet environment of my room, my mom opens up my door and comes in unannounced and uninvited. "You can give her here now, Demi. I'm awake."

"It's fine. I'm feeding her." I say softly, still staring down at her. I love to just stare at her. I stare at her while she sleeps too. It's actually one of my favorite pastimes.

"Let me rephrase that. Give her here, Demi. Right now. I'll finish feeding her. You need to take a shower and stuff. And I have to bathe her." My mom sighs.

"I can give her a bath, mom. I'm not disabled. I can do it." I don't want to give her up. I just enjoy holding her and staring at her that much.

My mom walks further into my room, over to the place I'm sitting on my bed. "Give me my baby, Demetria." She leans down and puts her arms around the baby firmly, but still gentle.

"…I have something I want to talk to you about, mom." I reluctantly relinquish her into my mom's arms, giving her a kiss as she leaves my custody.

"And what is that, Demetria?" She puts the baby's head against her shoulder and pats her back to burp her.

"…I feel like I need to go back to California." I hand her a spitrag.

She takes the rag from me. "Then go. Get going. I don't care if you go." She says harshly. I know my mom still resents me for what I did.

"…But I was thinking that maybe… Sofia could come with me." I mumble the last part in a nervous manner.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT, DEMETRIA. You are NOT taking my daughter across the country with you. FORGET it. You're not taking my baby anywhere."

I start to argue my point. "But mom, seriously. She needs to come with me and you know that—"

"FORGET IT, DEMI. My baby stays with me. Get it out of your head right now."

I sigh. "I'll just have to talk to dad about it."

"He'll say no too, Demi. Forget about it. You hear me? FORGET about it. Bella is staying here with me."

"…Sofia." I mumble, correcting her.

"I'm not getting into this with you, Demi. Shut it already." She turns haughtily and leaves my room with the baby.

"The least you can do is call her by the name I gave her. The only thing you let me do for her was name her." I say under my breath and hold onto her pink blanket.

This is not going to be an easy thing to do.


	2. Sisters

I'm losing my courage, which is a really bad thing. I have to convince my mom to let me do this. I have to go back to California, for reasons far too complicated for anyone to understand besides my family. And I can't go back to California without my littlest sister.

I hate the word "sister." It used to mean a lot to me, but now it means nothing. When my mom had Madison, it was my first taste of what it's like to be a sister. And it was the greatest feeling in the world. I finally felt like I was a whole. I felt like I was part of a full-functioning unit and I felt like I was going to have a unified friendship and lifelong bond with these people. "Sister" used to be such a strong word to me. I cringe at the word "sister" now.

After I get out of the shower, I put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Here in Texas, I never have any reason to look nice anymore. I used to always look nice, wherever I went. I guess that's why I was such a hotshot. Everywhere I went, boys looked at me. But I was only interested in one.

I flop down on my bed with my still wet hair. I'm so sick of living this way. My mom just takes advantage of me because she thinks I don't care. It's the worst whenever you want to fix something you've done, you want to take full responsibility for something you've done, but your mother doesn't let you. My mom refuses to let me right my wrongs.

I grab my phone and scroll through twitter. It's nice how I still have millions of fans that love me. I haven't released any new music or been on any new TV shows in a good few months. The last thing I've done was an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and that was a month after I…. yeah. So it's been about… five months since I've done anything. But my fans still love me and they ask me how I'm doing every single day.

Ever since I've moved from California, I've lost some contact with my friends, though. I don't talk to Selena much anymore. And I don't talk to… the Jonases anymore either. The only time I ever talk to Miley is through a text message, and that's not often. It sounds bad, believe me, I know it does; but I'm the most upset about not speaking to the Jonases anymore. It's not that I miss them the most, because I miss them all equally. I just feel the worst about never speaking to them, because I owe them the most. I don't mean I owe them my career, because I don't think I do, I just owe them a lot. You don't know what I mean by that, but you will eventually.

I go to my "following" list and tap on joejonas. I really, really miss him. I think I miss him the most. He texts me every day, which is nice. He's the only one of my friends that manages to text me EVERY SINGLE DAY. He was really upset whenever I told him my parents were making me move back to Texas, but I promised him we'd keep in touch. The hardest part about talking to Joe every day is knowing what I know. I haven't told him. And if I did tell him, I would most definitely lose his friendship. And I care about Joe way too much for that. Only Dallas knows this, but I love Joe. He was my first real love. And it's so hard to sit back and watch his life unfold with other girls in California while I'm in Texas.

Dallas told me that I need to learn how to diminish my feelings for Joe, and I've been trying to do that ever since I moved, almost a year ago.

The truth is… I can't possibly surrender all my feelings for Joe. He was the first real sexual relationship I've been in. And incidentally, he was the last person I've had sex with. He cared about me and I cared about him. We didn't just have sex and forget about each other. He'd take me out to dinner and everything. We really, really loved each other. And my mom couldn't ever understand that. If she understood that, she would've probably let me stay in California with him.

I walk the length of the hallway to my mom's room and knock on the door softly. It seems like no matter what I do, I'll make my mom angry. I walk on eggshells just to keep her happy, but in the end, it doesn't matter what I do. My mother is the queen of holding grudges. And even though I "messed up" about a year ago, she still resents me for it. In her defense though, I guess it's hard to forget about something you have to spend every day looking at.

"Come in." My dad says with his gravelly voice. He sounds tough, but he's easier to crack than my mom 

I open the door to their room and step in. My dad is still lying in bed and my mother is standing over the baby, rubbing lotion all over her body. It makes me feel a little sad how my mom is cooing and making cute little faces at her. I could do that for my…sister if she'd let me.

"What do you want, Demi?" My mom asks. She grabs a diaper from the pack that's on her dresser.

I glance at the little naked baby who's lying down on the bed. She kicks her legs out and coos back at my mom. I can tell that they both love each other and that really just irks me.

"I told you I was going to talk to dad about it." I say to her. I lean down and pick her up, naked and all. I lay her head down against my shoulder and stroke her bare back.

"And I told you to just drop it, Demetria." My mom walks over to me with that look in her eyes, and I can tell that she's about to take Sofia from my arms.

"Will you stop it, mom. I can _hold _her. I can _dress _her. Stop acting like you know what's best for her, mom. STOP." God, I'm getting really irritated with this. Nobody has any idea. I wish my mom would stop feeling sorry for herself. I stopped feeling sorry for myself.

"….Demi you seem to forget that Bella is my daughter." She wraps her arms around the baby and attempts to take her off me.

"Her name is Sofia, mom. Sofia." I cradle her in my arms as she starts to scream and cry. I can kind of understand that she doesn't like the arguing and the tone of me and my mother's voices.

"Demi, give me my baby. You don't know what you're doing and you never did know." She reaches over and attempts to take her away from me again.

"STOP! STOP IT! I CAN TAKE CARE OF HER! I CAN DO IT!" Pesky tears sting the corner of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.

"Demetria Devonne. I'm not going to tell you again. Give. Bella. To ME."

Sofia is screaming now and she's flailing her arms and kicking me in my stomach. I really, really don't want to give her up. I just want to take care of her for a little while. I even have to sneak her in my room at night just to spend some uninterrupted time with her. She isn't supposed to sleep in my room, but she does anyway because I feel safer with her next to me.

"…Mom. I'm asking you… for a CHANCE. Let me put her pamper on. Let me put her in some clothes. Let me play with her. Let me…" I know what I want to say, but I can't say it. I just can't bring myself to say it. Something within me is preventing me from saying it.

"You should've helped me do that from day one." My mom throws the diaper at me and it hits me in my arm. "You finish her up. You give her a pacifier and you just keep her quiet. I will be back up here to get her in a half hour. Not a half hour and thirty seconds. Exactly a half hour. Understand?"

"I understand." I nod happily and carefully lie Sofia back down on the bed. Like a professional, I strap her diaper on tightly and chuckle at how her chubby little stomach flaps over her diaper. She has my bellybutton. I know that's weird to say, but she has a really deep innie. If she had an outie, she'd have…someone else's bellybutton.

"Hi chubby baby. Hi." I rub some lotion on her feet and softly talk to her. I love her so much, I can't stand it. I wish I could love her more than I already do. You probably don't understand what I mean by this, but you will eventually.

"What did you need to talk to me about, Demi?" My dad's voice is calm, much calmer than my mom's.

"…Everything, honestly. But something in particular." I sweep my face off, because I've started crying. Sofia looks up at me and licks her lips. She has nothing but gums in her mouth, but she still smiles briefly.

"Okay then, let's talk kiddo." My dad sits up and puts his attention on me.

I gently put Sofia's clothes on. Her onesie is plain white with purple buttons. It's cute, but it's definitely something my mom bought her. "She doesn't understand, dad."

"She's just protective." As always, my dad attempts to defend my mom.

"…I want to go to California. I want to go back there and… tell." I sigh and pick Sofia up into my arms. "But I can't do that if I don't take her with me."

"You can't have your cake and eat it too, Demi. Honey, you have to pick one. Either you go by yourself or you don't go at all. You know your mother would never let you take Bella—Sofia across the country."

I sit down on the edge of the bed and put Sofia in my arms. I stare down at her. It would be so much easier to just… let her go if she wasn't so adorable. She's the most beautiful baby I've ever laid eyes on. Ever.

"I just want to fix my mistake, dad. That's really all I want to do. I feel like it'd make me feel like a better person if I just admitted everything and took credit for what I've done. But dad… I really can't do that if she doesn't come with me. You know that."

"It's a tough situation, honey. It's tough."

"….I can do whatever I want though, right dad? I'm eighteen." I lean down and kiss Sofia's cheek.

"You can, just not with her. We're her parents, Demi. In all aspects of the word, we're her parents."

"Technically." I mutter. Sofia grabs a long lock of my black hair and begins to chew on it. The sound of her little moans and sucking on my hair doesn't bother me. I look down at her again and I really feel like I'm going to cry. "Dad, I really need your help. Please. Mom would never let me… but I… I know you'll do what's right… I can take her if I want to, dad. You know I can. But I won't do it without help." I bounce Sofia gently in my arms and she closes her eyes.

"And what do you plan to do in California?"

"…I don't know. I just want to… go. And I at least owe it everyone to just…" I look down at Sofia again. She's asleep, lying on my breasts. Her small, chubby little arm is rested in my crook of my stomach and she's holding her head. "I owe it to her… to finally… be there for her. And not just as my pretend sister, dad. I owe it to her as her mom."

"…No promises, Demi. No promises at all. But… I will talk to mom for you. I'll talk to her. I'll let her know how you feel. But Demi, you made your bed. You know that, don't you?"

"I know. And I've been living with it. I've been living with it for six months now. I don't think I can live with it anymore." I find myself stroking her silky hair. "I can't live with her thinking that I'm her sister. I can't live with seeing her every day and acting like she's not part of me."

"I'll talk to your mom."

"Thank you, dad. Thank you. …I'm going to take her to my room. I… I like to watch her while she sleeps." I carefully stand up from my bed and make sure she's safe in my arms.

"Wehhhh…" She moves her head a little, but generally stays quiet and remains asleep.

You know what else is a beautiful moment?

That moment when you realize that nothing matters aymore.

And my mom doesn't matter.

I don't care what she says. I'm going to do what's best for me.

And finally… for the first time in six months…

I'm going to do what's right for my child.


	3. Yes

I doubt that my mom will let me take Sofia halfway across the country, but it's wishful thinking.

My parents always bitched at me about being responsible and taking care of the things I've done wrong.

Well, my dad seems like he's an advocate or me doing what I need to do to make up for the things, but it's hard for me to right all my wrongs when my mom doesn't want me to. She makes things so hard.

I know that my mom will be up to my room to take her from me really soon, but I really don't care right now. I keep her in my arms and sit on my bed with her. She sleeps peacefully with her head on my left breast and her tiny little hand resting on my heart. She puts her hand there because I breastfeed her sometimes.

I have to sneak and breastfeed her, which is a shame. My mom doesn't want me to, because technically, I'm not her mom.

She recognizes my mom as "mommy" and "mama." She recognizes me as "sissy." It bothers me so badly that I'm her "sister."

She's still legally my baby girl. I would never let my mom and dad take custody of her. They actually tried to the day I had her in the hospital. I refused to sign the papers. So legally, she's my daughter. But publicly and to everyone that isn't my family, she's my sister.

It sounded like a good idea at the time, but needless to say, I regret it now.

At first, I thought that I would want to go back to my career. So when I told my parents that I was pregnant, they decided to help me hide it from the press and the media. My dad came up with some "master plan."

I announced on twitter that I was taking a break from my career, because my mom was having another baby and she thought it would be wise to move and raise the baby back in Texas.

There's not many paparazzi in Texas, so it was buyable.

After I had her, I would go back to my career and we'd move back to California. Well, after I had my baby, I realized that my career didn't matter anymore. And I didn't care if the media knew about her. I wanted to take her back to California and tell him about her.

But my parents had other ideas. So even though I want the world to know that I had a beautiful baby girl on Valentine's Day, I'm forbidden to tell anyone that isn't my family.

Not even he knows about her. And that's what's bothering me the most. I can't live as her "sister" anymore. I'm her mother, and everyone should know that. Her father should know that too.

"You know that I'm your mommy, right?" I lean down and kiss her on her little nose. She keeps sleeping on me.

She's no bigger than the size of a football, but she's fatter than a football. She sleeps comfortably on a pillow or in my arms, whichever she prefers. I'm not supposed to hold her as she sleeps, because my mom says that I'll spoil her if I do, but I never listen to my mom.

I'd give anything to just parent her without my mother on my ass about it. I WANT to be her mother.

I grab my phone and keep her on my chest. She doesn't budge. She reminds me so much of him, the way she sleeps.

I'm ashamed of it, but at first, I didn't know who her father was. It's not that I was a whore and slept with everyone. I swear, that's not it.

I just didn't know when my last period was, so my doctor couldn't calculate my due date right. They gave me two possible due dates. So she could have been one of two people's. I've only had sex with three people, two people around the time I got pregnant. But as soon as I went into labor on February 13, I knew who's she was. And she looks just like him.

It's hard for me to talk to him knowing that we have a baby together that he doesn't know about, but I learn to deal with it.

I scroll through twitter to see what's new. Nothing much, besides Miley asking me how I'm doing. I don't really feel like responding.

I wish I could take a picture of her sleeping on my chest and post it on my twitter page, but I'm not allowed. The only pictures out there are pictures that my mom posts. And those are very few and far between.

"You look like your daddy." I say, staring down at her. She does look like him, but nobody would notice unless they knew the truth. I can tell that she has his eye shape and his mouth, but that's only because I know that he's actually her father. If anyone else didn't know, they'd swear she looks like me and my sisters.

"I think you'd love your daddy if you knew him. He's funny, caring and he's really, really nice." I pat her butt softly. I always tell her stories about him. I know she doesn't understand, but it makes me feel better that she knows.

"Hehhhhhhhhhhh!" She moans while she yawns. She blows her sweet little baby breath in my face. It smells like milk and pacifier.

"That was a big one. Huh?" I nestle my finger in her tiny hand and she squeezes it. "You think I could be a good mommy? I think I could if Grandma gave me a chance."

"Demetria." My mom interrupts the sweet moment by barging in my room.

"What?" I look up like a deer caught in headlights. I'm not supposed to be holding her and I know she's about to rip me a new asshole.

"Come downstairs. Bring Bella with you." She's surprisingly nice to me.

My mom isn't nice to me too often anymore. I can sort of understand why.

Ever since I was little, she's preached to me about safe sex. I broke her heart when I got pregnant. And I won't lie. I used to be a bit of a problem child. Every night, I'd go out with my friends and get drunk and high. Come to think of it, I'm not surprised that I got pregnant.

My mom is very good at holding grudges and I think she's still holding one on me.

I get up from the spot on my bed that me and Sofia were sitting in. I do know one thing about my daughter: she doesn't like to be disturbed when she's asleep.

So when I get up off the bed and rustle her a little bit, she immediately wakes up and pitches a fit.

"Ehhhh!" She furrows her eyebrows and begins her whining charade.

"Shhh. You're okay." I can't find a pacifier, so I put my index finger in her mouth. She always sucks on my fingers. That's the reason I stopped getting manicures.

She sucks on my finger softly and eases herself back into sleep.

I wonder what my mom wants to talk to me about. I'm a little nervous, but ready to defend myself.

I round the corner when I come downstairs and go into the living room where both my parents are sitting.

"Sit down, Demi." My mom sighs. She looks defeated, which is usually a good sign for me.

I sit down with Sofia still in my arms. I lean down and kiss her forehead.

"You have five minutes to explain to me why you want to go back to California." My mom says. Her tone is still controlling, but she seems tired.

"Five minutes?" I can't explain this in five minutes. I shouldn't even have to explain myself. But what the hell...

"Five minutes, Demi." My dad backs her up.

I nod once. "Well... I want this to change. Now that I'm eighteen. I want this to change. I don't want to be her fake sister. I want to be her mother, like I was meant to be. And I want you to be her grandparents, like you're supposed to be. I want you both to BACK. OFF." I pat Sofia's butt and stare at her. "And I feel like the first step of me being her mother will be going to California and letting the other side of her family know that she exists."

"Are you done?" My mom sighs.

I nod twice.

"Why can't you go to California alone?"

"Because I just can't, mom. I can't. That's retarded. I'm going to California to let them know that I have their baby, but I'm gonna show up with no baby?"

"Can you ask them to come here?"

"No way!" I forget to maintain a low tone for a second.

"I just don't think you're equipped to take her across five states. And what are you gonna do? Drive?"

"I'd like to fly in a plane, if that's not too much to ask."

"And how long are you going to stay there?"

"...four days. In a hotel. I'm sure they'd want to get to know her..."

"What if they don't want to get to know her?" She counters me.

"Then at least me and Sofia get a nice vacation out of it."

"...would you be totally opposed if one of us went with you?"

"Come on, mom! I can go by myself..." I'm starting to get really irritated, but I don't want to argue with my baby in my arms.

"What about if Dallas goes with you?"

"She has classes." I roll my eyes and keep patting my baby's butt.

"...Are you sure you're not doing this just to be selfish, Demetria?" My dad finally puts his two cents in.

"I'm not being selfish. I want her to know that she has a dad out there. A DAD. Not a grandfather pretending to be her dad. Someday we're gonna have to tell her."

"...Fine. You can take her to California. For THREE days. Not four. THREE. and you will FLY there. You hear me?"

"I hear you."

I'm glad they decided to just let me go.

Because I would've hated to just take her.

Either way, we were going. I'm eighteen and I'm still her legal guardian. I could've went without their blessing.

But the fact that they don't care makes it a whole lot easier.

"When can we leave?" I'm not sure if I'm nervous, excited or both.

"...tomorrow afternoon. Your mother and I already booked your flight." My dad rubs his temples.

I smile wide. "Okay. Tomorrow afternoon it is."

Tomorrow, my daughter and I are going to California.

Now all there's left to do is tell her father that we're coming.

That's gonna be the toughest part.

But I have to do it.

My mom and my dad get up off the couch and walk into the kitchen.

I look down at Sofia and smile. I actually get to take her. Her dad will hopefully want to see her.

So with a nervous stomach and shaky hands, I pick my phone out of my pocket. I unlock it and tap my contacts.

I scroll through my contacts and find his name to tell him that I'm coming to his state.

I tap on his contact and hit "call."

I take a deep breath and read my phone.

It reads: "Calling Joe."


	4. Visit

"Hey, Demi I was just getting ready to text you." He says when he answers the phone. His voice makes me melt. I can tell by the tone of his voice that he's confused and he has a right to be. We text almost every single day, but we never call each other. The last time I heard his voice was about a month ago. His voice is like music to my ears; beautiful and melodious, like Sofia's cry.

"Oh, were you? I'm sorry, but I had to call you. I have really big news." I put the phone to my ear and lean down against my shoulder to keep it steady while I get up, holding Sofia tightly in my arms. She's asleep peacefully.

"News? Good news or bad news?" He sounds like he's eating something. I have to remember that it's still pretty early in California. He's two hours behind me in time.

We used to talk all the time. Me and Joe used to spend hours upon hours on the phone. We'd talk about everything and anything, and when I was pregnant, the only time Sofia wouldn't kick me was when we were talking. But then, Joe started getting dates with a bunch of girls. And they didn't like him spending hours on the phone, so he stopped calling and stopped answering my calls. Now, we just text message.

"It's both good news and bad news. You want the bad or good first?" I finish walking upstairs and sit down on my bed. Sofia moves her tiny little feet and moans.

"Give me the good news." He laughs his smug little laugh in my ear. He laugh he'd always laugh if I said something funny.

"The good news is that I'm coming to California for a week..." I use my pinky fingernail to pick a boogie out of Sofia's tiny nostril. If there's one thing I refuse to tolerate with my baby, it's a snotty nose. Sofia moans angrily and remains asleep.

"You are?! That's great Demi! It's been forever... When are you coming?!" I'm glad he's excited. I just hope he keeps this excitement whenever I tell him that he has a six month old baby.

"I'm supposed to be leaving tomorrow morning. My flight leaves at 9:45. I'll probably be in California by tomorrow, but I won't be in Burbank until late. Way late."

"That's awesome. I'm so excited now. ...Why are you coming? Business trip?"

"No. Just a vacation from Texas. We just need to get away."

"We? Your family coming with you?"

"No... It's just me and...someone else."

"Who else is coming?"

"That's the bad news..." I sigh and look down at her. Her cream colored skin is smooth and flawless. She has chubby cheeks and two tiny little lips that form a tiny circle so that she can breathe. She has asthma, so her doctor says that it's normal for her to breathe like that. She uses both her nose and her mouth to breathe.

"Is it Dallas? God, you can't just leave her at home?" Joe and Dallas don't get along. They don't hate each other or anything, they just both brutally annoy each other.

I laugh at that. "No, it's not Dallas. Don't worry about who it is... Just know that I'm not going to be alone."

"Seriously, who is it Demi?"

"It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises, Demi. You of all people should know that."

"Me of all people?" I brace the phone against my ear using my shoulder again and switch positions with Sofia. I lie her against my chest and rub her butt in circles.

"Yeah, you of all people. Unless you forgot about me...but you used to know me better than anyone." He sounds like he really wants to talk to me. I'm glad about that.

"How could I forget about you?" I'm smiling, which is a big deal. I guess it's time for me to face the fact that Joe still makes me smile.

"That's what I thought. I know you better than you know yourself, Dems."

"I don't think you do." I shake my head. If he knew me better than I knew myself, he'd at least know about the secret that's asleep on my chest.

"Oh I bet I do. You used to tell me everything." I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Why don't you tell me what you know about me? You know... Since you know me better than I know myself."

"Do you really want me to tell you everything I know about you? Really, Demi? Because I don't think I need to tell you everything."

"Chicken." I'd usually call him a pussy, but I really try not to use such vulgar language around my daughter.

"Alright, fine. I know that you fight with your mom a lot, which is why you always used to go out. I know that it takes you three shots of vodka to get drunk." I blush at that, but listen to him keep going. "You'll smoke weed with me, but you prefer to drink rather than smoke. You sleep on your stomach, but always end up on your side. Your nose whistles while you sleep. You like to go out and party, but you'd settle for just cuddling with your boyfriend. You've kissed three girls in your party days, but you're not bisexual. The Notebook makes you cry and you absolutely hate The Titanic. You always used to make me watch chick flicks with you, but you'd complain if I made you watch sports movies." He's rattling everything off like he's reading me from a book.

"Okay, Okay. " I stop him. I'm blushing a little bit. Sure, he knows me pretty well. But he's missing one crucial fact. Like I'm a mom. And he's a dad.

"Tell me that I know you better than you know yourself and I'll stop." He teases.

"But you don't..." I say. I'm still smiling.

"You don't have a favorite color. You think sports are overrated, but you enjoy playing basketball. You're really, really clumsy. Should I keep going?"

"I've got all day." I move on from Sofia's butt to her hair. She doesn't have much hair, but she's not bald and that's all that matters to me.

"You have four beauty marks on your body: One by your mouth, one on your neck that I used to kiss, one on your left tit and the one on the inside of your thigh that I've licked a few times." He doesn't even stumble over that. He just keeps talking. "You always rub my back when we're done, because if it was good, you probably scratched it so bad that I'm hurt. When you're about to cum, you -"

"OKAY, OKAY! ENOUGH!" That was getting to be a little much. I don't need to know about how I act whenever I have sex. "You know me better than I know myself." I still don't think that's true, but I had to shut him up.

On my chest, Sofia moans and wrinkles her eyebrows at me. She's not awake, but she's in the process of waking up. So I have to cut this conversation off.

"You know what else I know about you, Dem?" Joe clears his throat and takes a deep breath into the receiver.

"What?" I'm watching Sofia squirm all over my chest.

"I know that if someone tells you they want to marry you, they give you a promise ring and everything... that you move away and that person never sees you again for the next year and a half."

I sigh, "Joe I..." On my chest, Sofia starts the process of full-blown crying. "I have to go." I take the phone away from my ear and hang it up.

I feel bad for what I did to him, but it wasn't my fault. I wanted to stay in California. I didn't want to move back to Texas. I wanted to raise Sofia with him. It's not my fault my parents made me move. I was a sixteen-going-on-seventeen year old girl. I couldn't tell them no. I had to do whatever they wanted me to do.

I guess Joe doesn't understand that my parents made me.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

It was really nice to talk to Demi. As much as it sucks to admit it, I miss her. I miss her really, really bad. I miss everything about her. I miss her laugh. I miss her smile. I miss the way she'd lay against my bare chest after we made love. The way her breath would catch in her throat when I'd work between her legs. And her hair would change colors in the sun. She's absolutely beautiful. I can't believe she's coming to visit.

After she hangs up on me, I put my phone down. I miss her so much, but I can't ever forgive her for what she did to me. I wore my heart out on my sleeve. I gave her everything. And she moved. Not only to a different town, but to a different STATE.

When she left, it took a lot out of me. It took me three months to be able to eat more than a couple crackers a day. It took me six months to be able to talk to her without crying afterwards. And it took me a year to finally, finally get over her.

The only positive thing is that she's coming to visit. I'm happy that she's coming to California, but I think she could've told me more than a day in advance.

Last week, I started seeing someone new. Her name is Ashley. She's really pretty and I think she's incredibly sweet. I think I really might like her.

I'm supposed to have a date with her tomorrow night, but since Demi's coming in, I might have to reschedule. I don't want to have to choose between Demi and Ashley, but if Demi's only going to be here for a really short time, I need to see her before she leaves.

I get out of my bed and stalk downstairs. I feel so strange now that I know she's coming. Like I should just...stay away from her.

Anyway, I go downstairs into the kitchen where my mom is cooking breakfast. She always makes breakfast in the morning. I don't know why she does, because none of us ever eat.

"Good morning Joseph." She's oddly cheerful.

"Morning mom. Where's dad?" I pick up a muffin from the basket on the table and pick the blueberries out of it.

"He went to get Kevin's car fixed. Why?" She's scrambling eggs, I think.

"I just need to know if we work tomorrow. If we do, I need to take off."

"You just took a day off last week. Why do you need off tomorrow?"

"Don't get mad, okay?"

"Why do you need to take off, Joe?"

"...Demi's flying in to visit. And I really want to see her tomorrow."

"Joe."

"Mom, it's alright. I can handle it. I just really, really want to see her."

"I'm not going to tell you that you aren't allowed. But understand that as your mother, I don't want you to get hurt again. It took me much too long to get you to feel better after she hurt you the first time."

"I know, mom. I know." I take a bite of the blueberry muffin. "I'll probably be bringing her over here tomorrow. Please don't treat her any differently."

"You know I would never do that, Joseph. Just don't get hurt again." She puts a plate of eggs in front of me.

"She said she isn't alone, but I think she's bringing Dallas or something, which means we'll probably end up bringing her over too."

"Alright. I'll talk to your dad about it. You know how he feels about her..."

"Dad hates everyone."

"He doesn't hate her. He just doesn't like what she did to you."

"If I'm over it, he should be too."

"It's not that easy. Imagine how it was for us as parents to see you go through that."

"She's sorry."

I hate when my family shit-talks Demi. It feels like they're shit-talking me whenever they do. I don't know, maybe I'm just being a fool. But it really does piss me off.

With that being said, I wonder who Demi's bringing with her. I'm willing to bet it's Dallas. If it's Dallas, I'll deal with her. I'd be a little more at ease if she was bringing Madison, though.

She has a third sister that she might bring, but I highly doubt that her parents would let her drag the baby to California. I'm not even sure of the baby's name. I've seen her in pictures, and I think she's pretty cute. She looks a lot like Demi. I think her name is Bella or something. That's what everyone calls her on twitter.

I don't mean to be rude, but I really wish Demi would come alone.


	5. To Leave

**Demi's Point of View.**

Today's the day. The day we're leaving. The day I'll start on the process of telling Sofia's dad that he is indeed, her dad.

I'm aware that this could go one of two ways. It could go amazingly. I could tell Joe that we have a six month old baby girl together. And he could accept it and want to be in her life.

Or I could tell Joe that we have a six month old baby girl together. And he could totally deny it, call me a liar, hate me and never want to speak to me nor Sofia ever again.

I really hope it goes the first way, but it will more than likely go the second. If I'm being honest, I don't expect him to embrace it. It would be way too much to ask of him to just accept her.

I also have to face the fact that if Joe doesn't accept her, that'll just be it. Ultimately, it's going to come down to me having to choose between Joe or Sofia, and sadly, Joe will lose. My baby is much more important to me than love. She's more important than love, because loving her is the greatest love I've ever experienced.

While I was pregnant with her, I thought I loved her. I felt her moving inside of me, kicking inside of me, getting the hiccups inside of me, elbowing me. I thought for sure, that was love.

Then I laid in the hospital bed to have her. My water didn't break on my own. Some doctor had to go inside of me and break it. And I laid in the same hospital bed, for 31 hours, having contractions, in pure agony, because I didn't want to have drugs, because I didn't want her to be born drugged out. And I thought that was love.

Then I had to push her out of a hole the size of a lemon. And I swear, she was the size of a bowling ball. And I tore real bad down there, and they had to sew me up, and it hurt like hell. I thought that was love.

The doctor put my bloody, gross, slimy little baby on my chest and she screamed in my ear. I didn't even care that she looked like someone threw up all over her. I held her and kissed her and she screamed some more. I thought that was love.

But honestly...

I never knew true love until I wiped her butt for the first time. And I believe that goes for everyone.

You'll never know true love until you wipe someone's poopy butt.

So in that case, if I ever had to choose between Sofia and Joe, believe me... Joe would most definitely lose.

Anyway, I have a lot to do today before 9:45. I wake up at 6:30, expecting to wake up with my baby beside me. I'm a little annoyed whenever I open my eyes and she's not there. But my parents are actually letting me take her, so I guess I'll just let it go.

I'll do everything I need to do before I get her ready, so I'll let my parents spend some time with her.

I roll out of my bed and make it. My mom completely bitches if I don't make my bed, so to save the argument I just do it.

After I make my bed, I start packing both of our things. We're staying for a week, so we're going to need quite a bit of clothes.

I pack a big suitcase full of my clothes. I have about fourteen pairs of underwear packed, three pairs of capris, six pairs of shorts, four bras, and a plethora of shirts. I also pack a box of tampons, my toothbrush, some toothpaste, three towels, two washrags, my facial cleanser and a small bottle of mouthwash.

In my carry-on bag, I pack some toys for Sofia, three books to read to her, a blanket, two pacifiers, bottles, a two bottles of water and her hairbrush. For me, I stash my cell phone charger in there and a bottle of Midol. I'm not on my period yet, but it's supposed to be coming.

Then finally, I pack Sofia's bag. Packing for her is harder than packing for myself. In her bag, I put a TON of diapers. I pack a few cute little outfits for her, along with some pajamas. I pack three new packs of socks, because I have to keep her feet warm. I pack her two pairs of shoes and some of my favorite bows to put on her head. It's been a while since she's had an asthma attack, but I really don't want to chance it, so I pack up her breathing machine.

It literally takes me an hour to pack both of our bags properly.

Now I have to feed myself, take a shower and then we can leave. This morning just started and I'm already too overwhelmed.

I put all our bags on my bed and go downstairs.

It's really crazy to me how little it takes for me to miss Sofia. I could run to the store for ten minutes and I'll already miss her. I miss her right now, as I speak.

"Good morning, Demi." My mom says. I'm surprised she's awake this early. She, of course, has Sofia in her arms.

"Morning, mom." I greet her monotonously. "And good morning my baby! Good morning!" I kiss Sofia on her lips and pinch her cheek.

"Ehhh..." She turns away from me and lies on my mom's shoulder sleepily.

It really bothers me how it's apparent that Sofia has a preference. She obviously prefers my mother over me, and that really burns me up inside. I know she'd like me more if my mom didn't spend the last six months of her life pretending to be me.

"You need to go pack your bags up and take a shower. I've got her."

"I came down here to eat, and I'm already done packing. Give me her, I'm going to go take a shower first."

"Sit down and eat something, Demetria. I don't know why you get so antsy whenever I hold her. You'll have her for a whole week in a few hours." My mom nags. I could slap the piss out of her right now but I won't.

"I want to give her a bath before we leave, so she can just take a shower with me." I feel so retarded sitting here, asking for my baby. She's MINE. She came out of ME. So why am I asking for her?

"I'll give her a bath, you just eat something. I've got it." She pats Sofia's back. "Ain't that right Bella? Say mama's got it, Demi."

Yeah, that's it. I'm snapping. "Her name is SOFIA, mom. S-O-F-I-A. SOOOOO. FEEEE. AHHH. And don't you DARE refer to me as 'Demi' to her. I'm her mommy... God you disgust me." I'm shaking so much because I'm so pissed off.

"You're her mother, Demi? You're her MOTHER?"

It's way too early to fight right now. "Yeah! I'm her mother! She came from ME!"

"Who feeds her when she's hungry? Who stayed up all night with her when she had a fever? Who rushed her to the hospital when she turned purple because she couldn't breathe? Who does all that, Demi? Anyone can lie down and push out a baby."

"I DON'T DO ANYTHING FOR HER BECAUSE YOU WON'T LET ME! REAL SMART TO JUST YELL AT ME FOR NOT BEING A MOM WHEN YOU WON'T LET ME BE! THE ONLY THING YOU LET ME DO WAS NAME HER AND YOU CAN'T EVEN CALL HER BY HER NAME!" I scream at her so loud that I could wake the dead.

"WHO ARE YOU YELLING AT, DEMETRIA?! YOU MUST'VE FORGOT THAT YOU'RE MY KID! YOU DON'T YELL AT ME LIKE THAT!"

In her arms, Sofia moves her head off my mom's shoulder and starts screaming too. Her little face gets all red and tears fall. And that is the ONLY reason I stop yelling at my mom.

"Stop yelling in her ear!" I wrap my arms around her tiny body and try to take her from my mom's arms.

"Get off her, Demi. I already regret telling you that you could take her. Poor baby's going to be dead in a week with a mother like you."

"Kiss my ass, mom." I turn around and leave the kitchen. She pisses me off so bad that all I can do is cry.

Everyone thinks I'm such a shitty mom. But I'm not. If only they'd give me the chance to show that I'm not a bad mom. I'm not even hungry anymore. I just want to leave this house.

I go to my bathroom and step in the shower. I feel like crap. My mom has a really good way of making me feel like I'm a piece of shit.

While I'm in the shower, I wash my body up really well. I don't know why, but when I wash up, I feel like I could wash all my worries away. I even spare some time to cry.

I care about my daughter so much, I don't know why my mother can't see it.

After I wash my body, I use some extra time to wash my boobs and nipples off very good. I don't want Sofia to suck on them if they're dirty. And my nipples crack and bleed and it just hurts really bad to breastfeed her, but I wouldn't stop for the world.

I get out of the shower and put clean underwear on and a pair of comfortable sweatpants. Before I put my bra on, I rub some of this cream that I bought on my nipples. It's supposed to keep them from being so achy and sore, and it's all natural, so it's healthy for Sofia.

I stash the nipple cream back into my carry-on bag and finish getting dressed. I shove my glasses on my face, because my eyes are too irritated from crying to put contacts in.

I just can't wait to be gone from this house.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

I can't sleep. I think it's because Demi's on my mind. I've been thinking about her since our conversation earlier and I really just can't stop. I guess this is why my mom and dad were so hell-bent on her not even coming.

Demi is like a drug to me. And everyone around me knows that. I go ballistic whenever someone even mentions her name.

I know it's five in the morning here, which means it's seven there. I really just need to hear from her. It's probably a long shot, but I pick up my phone and I call her.

Please pick up.

"Hello?" She actually answers and I'm ecstatic.

"Hey... I can't sleep. You up and about?"

"Yeah.. Just packing and stuff. Getting ready to leave." She sniffs. She was crying. Why was my Demi crying?

"You okay? Why are you crying?"

"My mom and I had a fight. That's all. The usual..."

"Aren't you glad you don't have to deal with her too much more?"

"Absolutely."

"What was the fight about?"

She hesitates before she answers me. "...Just stuff. Stuff you'll know about in a few days after I tell you."

"Oh. Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine. A little sore in places I don't want to be sore in, but that's it."

"...Who'd you fuck?" I try my hardest to make that sound playful, but in all seriousness, I'll be pissed off if someone else fucked her.

She laughs and her laugh is beautiful. "Nobody. My crotch isn't what's sore. My boobs are."

"Oh." Boy am I relieved to hear that. "Why are they sore then?"

"Period problems."

"Oh. What time's your flight?"

"It leaves at 9:45."

"Then what are you doing bullshitting?"

She laughs again. "You called me!"

I laugh too. "I'm sorry. Do you need me to hang up?"

"No. I'm waiting for my mom to get done bathing... The other person or thing that's accompanying me."

"You're bringing your dog, Demi?" Before she left, we both bought a dog. We pretended like the dog was our child. It makes sense that she'd bring the dog.

"Maybe..." Her voice trails off.

"Well I'm gonna let you go now. And I'm gonna try and get some more sleep. Will I see you in a few hours?"

"Yes you will."

"Alright." I smile and hang up the phone with her.

I really wish I could stop being so hung up on Demi.

But it doesn't seem likely.


	6. One Fish, Two Fish

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Call me when you get off the plane. I already called the rental company and the car will be waiting for in the parking lot of LAX, when you get there. I think you'll have a layover in Phoenix. Be safe." My dad is coaching me with a pipe hanging out of his mouth. He's speaking gruffly, like I had BETTER listen.

"Alright dad..." I nod. I'm a little nervous to go off to California, but I'll be fine. It's an adventure.

"...Here. It's all I've got to give you, so use it wisely." He chews on the stem of his pipe and hands me a wad of $100 bills.

"Thanks daddy. I appreciate it."

Next, my mom starts with me. I really don't want to hear anything she has to say.

"Call me every day, Demetria. And please don't neglect the baby. She needs a lot of care, you know. If you want to come home at any time, you know you can." She's messing with the curls in my hair.

"I know, mom."

"I love you, Demi. I do." She gives me a hug. I hug her back. When we're done hugging, she kneels down in front of the car seat.

Sofia is wide awake in her car seat, enjoying the sunny day. She has a purple pacifier hanging out of her mouth and an unamused look on her face. She's so cute.

"You call me if your mommy mistreats you, okay? I'll kick her butt if she forgets to feed you." My mom coos to Sofia. I'm just glad she actually referred to me as her mom.

"I'm gonna miss you, pretty girl. I'm gonna miss you." She's rubbing her finger across Sofia's cheek. Sofia just looks at her. "Give me some sugars." My mom pulls the pacifier out her mouth and Sofia looks at her like "how dare you." My mom leans in and gives her a kiss on her lips.

"Sorry to cut the love fest short, but mom we've really gotta go." I tell her. It's 9:39. The plane is leaving at 9:45.

"Alright." She gives Sofia back her pacifier and gets off her knees. "Please be safe, Demi." She wraps her arms around me and squeezes me tight. "I love you."

"I love you too mom." I do love her, she just annoys the hell out of me most of the time.

I grab the handle of Sofia's car seat and sling my carry-on bag over my shoulder.

I'm very nervous, but also anxious to get going.

I'm glad we already went through security, because airport security is a bitch and a half sometimes; especially when you've got a cranky little baby that needs checked too.

I walk through the terminal and go out on the runway to board my plane. My dad got us middle class seats. I told him I didn't want first class.

I walk up the narrow aisle of the plane, careful not to bump the car seat off any chairs. I find us a seat near the back and I sit down in the window seat. An elderly woman is sitting behind us and a younger woman with three kids is in front.

I have to really try to keep Sofia quiet, because I know how annoying it is to have a baby crying while you're flying on a plane.

I put her car seat down on the floor and lift her out of it. "Hi baby. Hi." I give her a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Ehhh... Ehhhhh!"

"Don't cry... Mama's got you." I kiss her on her cheek again and pat her butt. I wonder if telling her "Mama's got you" makes her a difference or not. I'm sure she doesn't even know I'm her mama.

Just then, the flight attendant speaks over the system. "Welcome aboard, passengers. Please use this moment to fasten your seat-belts and secure any loose articles in the compartments above your heads. We will be taxiing off the runway momentarily. Thank you for flying with Southwest Airlines."

"We gotta fasten our seat-belts so we don't fall off the plane, pumpkin." I coo to Sofia and buckle myself into my own seatbelt. We're only going to be on the plane for an hour while we go to Phoenix. It's not that bad of a ride.

Sofia's already crabby, though. We've only been sitting for like two minutes and she's already about to pitch a fit.

"Nyehhh!" She starts already. I lean over and grab my carry-on bag. I fish one of the books out. I packed The Giving Tree, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and One Fish, Two Fish.

"You want mommy to read you a story? Hmm? Let's read some Dr. Seuss. Mommy loves Dr. Seuss."

"Heheheh! EHEH!" She's kicking me in my stomach and throwing her temper tantrum.

I'm not embarrassed just yet. Give her a moment to start crying loud and I will be.

The plane starts moving and she starts fussing really loud.

"Wehhhhhh! Heheheh! Ehhh!"

I reach over and grab a pre-made bottle from the carry-on bag. I secure Sofia on my lap with her head rested on my breasts. She holds her own bottle and sucks on it.

She'd never act so fussy if it were my mom holding her. I understand that she isn't used to me being her mommy, so it's my job to make her used to it.

I open the book and start reading it to her.

"One fish, two fish. Red fish, blue fish." I look down at her. She's paying attention, mostly looking at the pictures. She puts her chubby hand out and touches the blue fish.

I turn the page. "Did you ever fly a kite in bed? Did you ever walk with ten cats on your head?"

She touches one of the cats. I just kiss her hand.

I flip the page again. "Did you ever milk this kind of cow? Well we can do it. We know how."

Her bright brown eyes get really big whenever she sees the cow. I know that cows and ducks are her favorite animal. I bet my mom doesn't know that. She sleeps with a stuffed cow that I bought her. It's called Mr. Moo.

"You see the cow, baby? You see the cow? Cows go moooooo. Don't they?"

She touches the cow and moves her hand in a way that suggests she wants to pet it. Stupid me didn't pack Mr. Moo in our carry-on bag. He's in our suitcase.

"Cows go MOOO." I don't mind making a fool of myself for my baby. It's all part of being a mom. I'm a good mom... Aren't I? I'm really trying.

"Can you say Mooooo?" I take her bottle out of her mouth and kiss her on her cheek a bunch of times.

"Heh." She laughs at me and shows me her gums. She has two really tiny ridges of teeth coming through her gums. They're not really noticeable unless you really look.

I turn my head and look out the window. We're already very high in the air.

This is it. We're really going to California.

I'm really going to tell Joe about our baby.

I've never been more nervous in my life.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

I'm BEYOND ready to see Demi. I even cancelled my date with Ashley so that I can see her.

I'm a little crazy about her.

Don't get me wrong. I really, really, REALLY like Ashley. But Demi's my... Demi. She was my first love. My first everything. We did everything together, too. She wasn't only the most amazing girlfriend I could've ever asked for. She was my best friend, also.

I miss kissing her. Holding her. Play fighting with her. Talking to her. And even making love to her. I have to keep myself grounded though, because she's only staying for a week.

I'm also excited to see who else she's bringing with her. I'm almost certain that she's bringing the dog we adopted together.

I haven't seen her in such a long time. I really hope I recognize her. I look at pictures of her on twitter all the time. She's absolutely beautiful. She refuses to FaceTime me though. I used to always ask her to FaceTime and she'd always tell me no. I'd ask her why, but the answer was always "I don't want you to see me like this."

Not to mention... She has the most amazing body too. She curves in all the right places and has just the right amount of thickness everywhere.

I told her one day that she was going to be my wife, and she agreed with me. Until one day, she moved. I'm still not quite over that.

I have a plan, though.

I'm going to see Demi soon enough, and I'm going to ask her if she'll stay with me. She's eighteen. She can stay if she wants. I don't care if she doesn't have money it anything. I'll buy her whatever she needs. I just don't want to lose her again.

I'm prepared for the worst, though.

As far as I know, Demi doesn't have a boyfriend or anything. But she makes it pretty obvious that she doesn't want to be with me.

I guess I'll just see what happens.

I'm counting down the time.

Three and a half hours until she's in California. Five hours until she's in Burbank.

I can't wait.

Time, please hurry.


	7. Dirty Things

"Attention, passengers. We will be landing on the runway in approximately ten minutes. Please prepare to touch down."

I sigh and open my eyes. I hadn't fallen asleep on the plane. My mind is much too full to sleep.

The land here is so much different than it is in Texas. It's arid, dry outside without the slightest trace of a cloud in the sky. The sun is bright, beaming down and making the brown ground appear lighter than what it is.

I read a yellow sign with red writing from the low distance that we are in the plane.

"Welcome to Phoenix, Arizona. Where the sun always shines!" The sign says.

I've never been to Arizona before, but I hear it's always hot and humid here.

I lift up easily, careful not to disturb my baby on my chest. Even though I didn't find the time to fall asleep, Sofia sure did.

I slide my feet back into my flip flops and move my body again, so that I'm sitting straight up.

"Mehhhhh!" Sofia whines on my chest and switches her head onto my right breast.

"I'm sorry, ladybug." I lean down and kiss her on the top of her head. I decide not to wake her up.

I feel the plane land on the runway and roll to a stop.

The people around me collect their belongings and begin to file off the plane.

With one arm wrapped around Sofia's tiny, chubby body, I stand up and grab the handle of her car seat.

Some man behind me is taking forever to walk out into the aisle. He's busy chatting loudly with another man behind him.

I don't have time to wait for him, A, because I'm sure that Sofia needs her pamper changed and B, I have to use the bathroom myself.

In greatly opposed to making my baby sit in her own waste, so I walk out in front of the man quickly, careful not to irritate him.

I guess I wasn't careful enough, because he noticed it.

"Guess some people can't just wait their turn." He grumbles and gives me a very light shove. His push was harmless, it didn't hurt much, but it REALLY sets me off.

"I have a baby in my arms, you bastard. Have a little more respect instead of wasting my time." I hold Sofia tight against my body. If I would've dropped her, I swear I might have killed that man.

The man doesn't say anything else to me, so I walk semi-fast down the aisle, down the stairs and out the door of the plane.

I really can't understand some people's logic. I don't care if I cut him in line. But why would a MAN push a  
WOMAN, especially when she has a baby in her arms?

I put my emotions aside and shrug it off.

Damn, it really is hot out here. I haven't been in the sun longer than two minutes and I'm already sticky and sweaty.

I don't want Sofia to burn, so I secure the carry-on bag, Sofia's car seat and Sofia in my arms and walk a little faster into the airport.

Airport security is my least favorite part.

I walk through the detectors with Sofia still in my arms. One of the handymen takes it upon himself to grab the car seat and the bag and place it on the checking table for me.

"Thank you." I say to him. Sofia's getting heavy in my arms.

"No problem, ma'am."

Once we're through the detectors, I grab the bag and the car seat and go to grab the two duffel bags from the luggage table.

This airport is really cheap, and it doesn't look too clean. I wish my dad would've picked a better airport.

On another note, the people that work in this airport seem like they're very nice people. They're very helpful, because another woman showed me the way to get to the luggage table.

"Thank you, ma'am." I say as politely as possible. I'm beginning to regret doing this alone. I was just so eager about the trip, I didn't think about what it really meant to travel alone.

"You're welcome, honey. Is it your first time in Phoenix?" The lady asks me. She's older, with grey hair, glasses and wrinkles.

"Yes..." I nod and make sure Sofia is still asleep. I swear, babies sleep through everything.

"Oh. Well, glad I can be of assistance, dear. Especially you being here alone with your baby."

You can look at Sofia and tell she's mine? Really? She looks like me that much?

"Thank you for being so nice." I grab my two duffel bags and drag them over to the rest area. There are a couple restaurants and tons of couches and TVs.

It's hard to carry all this with one arm. I'm glad all my bags aren't too heavy.

I sit down on one of the couches with the other people that have layovers.

I know how foolish it must sound, but I wonder what Joe's doing at this very moment. The more I think about him, the worse I feel. I imagine that he's content with his life, nothing to worry about, not a care in the world.

I feel bad for what I'm about to do to him. I'm about to rock his world. It's like I'm about to just leave a baby on his doorstep and expect him to be a decent person and take care of her.

Well, if I'm being honest, I won't really blame Joe if he decided that he doesn't want the responsibility Sofia brings. I didn't want the responsibility either.

I'm just hoping that he'll at least want to get to know her. She's a really incredible baby. I can't fathom why he'd want to miss out on her. She has the ability to make me feel better in my absolute worst days. Maybe she'll have the same affect on him.

If Joe decides that he doesn't want to get to know Sofia, I'll just go home. I can't make him want to be with me. I can't make him want to see her. At least he'll know that she does exist.

"Whhhehhhh..." She stirs and moans on my chest. It's about time she's waken up.

She probably needs her diaper changed. She's probably hungry. And to my dismay, she probably misses my mother.

"Good morning, ladybug. Hi..." I kiss her on her slobbery lips. "Good morning."

"Mmmm..."

I reach my index finger into her onesie and pat her diaper. Her diaper is squishy, which means she's done something, but I'm not sure if she peed or pooed.

"Lets go change you." I sling her diaper bag over my arm and get up to find the nearest bathroom.

I don't understand how some parents can just lie their baby down on the floor and change them, exposing them to the world. I could never do that. Call me crazy, but my baby's privates are MY BABY'S PRIVATES. Aside from my family, her parts are meant for my eyes only. You never know what kind of sickos there are out there.

I open the door to the bathroom, and it's really gross and dingy on the inside. The sinks are rusty and it smells like sewer water. There is dirt all over the floor and mold growing in the corners. I really don't want to change her in here.

I open the changing table that's in the corner and look at it. There's green stuff smudged all over it and it's kind of dirty too. No way.

"Mommy's not changing you in here, pumpkin." I open up a stall to the bathroom. It's gross in here too, but It'll have to do.

I sit down on the toilet (with my pants up) and lie Sofia on my lap. I guess I'd rather catch something from these dirty ass bathrooms than have her catch something.

"Ooooh ooooh woo..." She stares up at me with her big eyes and blows spit bubbles at me. "Ooooh!"

"Why you spittin at me? Huh? Why?" I grab a baby wipe from the diaper bag and wipe her butt with it. She pooped a little bit. I can't wait to get to our hotel to give her a good bath.

She kicks her legs a little bit, but I have my knees squeezed together so tight that she can't roll off my lap.

I put a fresh diaper on her and spring up quickly. I'm ready to leave this dirty place.

I'm a little hungry, so maybe I'll grab something to eat.

It's only an hour layover, so we should be back on a plane soon.

I keep my internal countdown going.

About... Four hours until I'm in California.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

"So what's gonna happen when Demi gets here?" Nick asks. He's way out of breath, but still running.

"I don't know. I'm probably gonna take her out to dinner." I grunt after I say that. My arms are getting tighter.

"That's not what I meant." He keeps running.

"I know what you meant. And I don't know what's gonna happen." I keep pushing with my arms.

"Are you guys gonna like.. Resume or what?"

"Probably not. We have so much history though. I don't know how we could just pick up where we left off..."

"I know what you mean." He stops running and sips some water. "Does she know how you still feel about her?"

I put the bar in place and lean up too. I'll add another five pound weight to it later. "I don't think she does. We don't talk about us anymore. We talk about how our lives are."

"I think you should tell her how you feel about her. Let her know that you're still crazy about her."

"I'm not crazy about her..."

"You wrote so many songs about her that me and Kev put them in a book and called it "The Demi Book." If that's not obsession, I don't know what is."

"It's more of an infatuation." I sip some water too.

It's rare for an older and younger brother to have the relationship that Nick and I have. I'm very close to him, and I tell him just about everything.

"Well I think you should tell her about your... Infatuation."

"Maybe I will." I drink some more water. "She said she's bringing someone. I wonder who it is."

"Someone like who?"

"She won't say."

"Well... When she lets you know, let me know. Maybe she's bringing a friend. And if she is, get me her digits."

"Not hardly." I laugh and shake my head.

But maybe he's right.

For a stupid eighteen year old kid, my brother makes a lot of wise decisions.

Now all I have to do is decide if I'll tell Demi how I feel.

I have about... Six hours or so to make a decision.

Tick tock, tick tock.


	8. The Moment

**Joe's Point of View.**

"It's fine that you have to cancel. Should we reschedule?"

"Yeah. Next weekend or so. I'm really sorry. My friend's just coming into town." I feel really bad letting her down, but it's nice that she understands.

"Next weekend is bad. I have to film again." She sounds really let down. She's a really sweet girl, and I do have strong feelings for her.

"I just need tomorrow. You can call me with whatever's good for you after tomorrow. We'll go whenever it's possible for you. I'm free whenever." I try really hard to make it up to her. I don't want to let her down, that's just how sweet she is.

"Alright, that works. Probably next Wednesday, that's my off day. But I'll call you to make sure."

"Okay. Thanks for understanding."

"No problem. Have fun with your friend."

"See you soon."

We both hang up the phone and that's that.

Once Demi leaves, I really think that me and Ashley have the potential to be something. It's nice how she understands that we're not an item just yet. When I told her about Demi coming, she wasn't even mad.

In a perfect world, I'd like to be with Demi. I'd like to be with her forever. I'd like for her to stay here in California with me.

But in reality, she probably won't stay with me.

And in reality, Ashley is the perfect choice. So I have to start thinking realistically.

Speaking of Demi, I wonder where she's at.

I grab my phone from my pocket and text her. I'd rather call her, but if she's in the air, she wouldn't be able to answer.

Me: Where are you?

Her: Not even close to California!

Me: Seriously?

Her: No lol jk. I just got back on the plane from my layover. We'll be in California in like an hour or something.

Me: When will you be in Burbank?

Her: 2-3 hours.

Me: I can't wait. So who are you bringing?

Her: Taking off now, gotta go!

I don't even text her back after that.

Why is she trying so hard to keep it a secret? She could just tell me who it is. It's not that serious.

Instead of stressing about it, I just sit down on the couch to watch TV. That's Demi's only flaw. She really knows how to piss me off.

"I heard Demi's flying in." Kevin plops down on the couch next to me. I'm surprised that Danielle isn't behind him.

"Yeah. For a little while." I pretend to be disinterested. Nick's the only one that knows how I still feel about her.

"You gonna go see her?"

"Probably." I flick through the channels to find something to watch.

"When's she gonna be here?"

What is this? 20 questions? "In like... Three hours. Around..." I look at the clock. 3:43. "Around six or seven."

"Why so long? It's only a half hour from LAX to Burbank."

"I don't know, Kevin. Because she and whoever she's bringing are staying in Los Angeles."

"She's bringing someone?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"She won't tell me. Why are you asking so many damned questions?"

"I dunno. I'm just curious." He shrugs. "But I did come in here to talk to you."

"About what?" I pretend to be very interested in The Real World.

"Last night, me and Dani were discussing starting a family. I was just wondering what you thought about it. Nick thinks it's a good idea."

"...Do whatever you want. If it makes you happy..."

"Seriously, Joe. What do you think of it?"

"I think you and Dani would make good parents. Don't ask me what I think, because I don't really want kids. I don't want to be a dad someday. That's just not for me."

"You don't want kids? Why not?"

"I don't know. I just don't want them."

"You never thought about having a baby?"

"A couple times. But I don't love anyone enough to have a baby with them. So I don't want kids." I shrug.

"You're only 21, Joe. You mean to tell me that when you and Demi were boning every single night, you didn't think about having a baby?"

"It was just sex between us. And I wore a bag every time."

"You better have worn a bag." He laughs. "I heard she wasn't too... clean."

"Shut up, Kevin."

"I'm just saying. She was wild a few years back. I heard she'd give it to anyone."

"I said shut up, Kevin. She was not."

"You're in a little bit of denial, Joe. She's like twelve with thirteen bodies."

"She's eighteen. And she doesn't have thirteen bodies." He's really making me mad.

"More like... Fourteen. Didn't she do that one dude the same night she met him?"

"She's not a whore, Kevin. Shut up." I get up from the couch before I beat him to a pulp.

Demi was not and is not a whore. Sure, I wasn't the only one she was messing with, but it wasn't like that.

When we officially got together, she stopped sleeping with the other guys. And she's told me everyone she's done something with. And she's only been with three guys, including me.

When she was drunk, she would throw herself at guys, though. But only when she was drunk. And they wouldn't do anything. The most she's ever done with them was oral, and she was the receiver, not the giver.

So if you count oral sex as sex, then yeah. She's had sex with about eight people. But she's only slept with me and two other guys.

And the one dude Kevin's talking about doesn't even count because she was really drunk that night and the guy kind of took advantage of her. He didn't rape her or anything, but she was drunk and he wasn't. She did tell him to get off, so maybe he did rape her. I don't know. But she's not a whore.

She's my Demi. And I won't let Kevin just talk about her like that.

Everyone has a past. And I still love Demi, despite hers.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

Our last plane touches down at 4:30 exactly.

Los Angeles is exactly how I remember it. Palm trees are everywhere and instead of the sticky, uncomfortable humidity that was in Arizona, the sun is shining but there's a slight breeze. I really missed California, but not the life I lived while I was here.

I want to take Sofia to the beach at least once while we're here. I loved going to the beach when I used to live here.

It only takes 20 minutes to get from the hotel we're staying at to the Jonas house in Burbank, but I told Joe I'd be three hours, because I want to mentally prepare myself before I see him.

When I get to our rental car, I'm glad it's big. Sofia's been in a cranky mood, but I think it's because she's sleepy.

My dad really outdid himself with the rental car. It's a white Trailblazer truck. I pile all of my bags into the trunk of the truck and secure Sofia's car seat in the backseat.

"You wanna take a nappy when we get to the hotel ladybug? Hmm?" I plant a kiss on her foot. She looks at me with the look of death, which causes me to laugh a little.

I climb into the driver's seat of the car and call my mom as I back out of the airport parking lot.

"Did you guys make it to the hotel safe?" She greets me. She doesn't even say hello.

"Yeah. We're fine. I'm on my way to the hotel now." I'm glad I know my way around California, because the traffic is horrible and confusing.

"How's my baby doing?"

I could hang up on her right now for that. "She's fine. A little cranky, but she's sleepy." I make the turn into the parking lot of the Mariott.

"Give her a little bit of milk before she goes to sleep, Demi."

"I know mom." I park the car.

"Okay... I'll let you guys go. Call me when you're about to go tell him. Get some rest, alright?"

"Alright."

"Love you."

"You too."

She hangs up and I shove my phone back into my pocket. "We're here, baby girl. You can sleep now."

I climb out of the car again and grab the bags out the backseat first. I sling them onto my shoulders and finally grab Sofia's car seat. She's already asleep. It took us literally a minute to get to the hotel from the airport and she's already fallen asleep.

I lock up the car and go into the hotel through the revolving doors. It's nice in here. The lobby is wide and spacious. Lots of people are checking in, so I get in line.

I'm tired too. Not tired as in sleepy, just tired of driving and flying. Tired of traveling. I'm really glad I made it to California without getting spotted by the paparazzi. They seemed to have forgotten about me since I moved out of California.

"Your last name?" A dark-skinned woman asks me when I approach the check in desk.

"Lovato."

"Demetria?"

"Yes."

She clicks a few things on the computer and prints up a receipt. "Room number 16. On the second floor." She hands me the receipt and the room key.

I take them both. "Thank you."

I drag all my bags and the heavy car seat to the elevator. I end up in the elevator with an old woman.

"Oh my dear. She's absolutely precious. How old?" She's referring to Sofia. Her eyes aren't even on me. They're on the car seat.

"She's six months old." I lift the seat up a little more to give her a better look. I love when people comment on how pretty Sofia is. It makes me feel like I did something right.

"She's absolutely adorable. You taking her to her mother?" She reaches out and touches Sofia's hand.

"I am her mother..."

"Oh my..." She doesn't stop looking at Sofia. "How old are you dear?"

I want to tell this woman to mind her own business, but I was raised to respect my elders.

"I'm eighteen."

"Oh, heavens." She shakes her head. "Well good luck with that." She gathers her purse and walks off the elevator.

I gather up all my bags and step off too. She really hurt my feelings. I know I'm a little young for a baby, but she's mine. She's my baby.

I sigh and find room 16. I insert my room key and open the door. It's really nice in this hotel room.

There's only one king sized bed. There's a TV, a jacuzzi-tub in one corner, and the door to a bathroom.

That old woman really, really made me feel lousy. I haven't felt this terrible since the day my mom called me a slut when she found out about my past. That wasn't a great feeling either.

I think I'm depressed. I mean, I'm never happy. I don't want to commit suicide or anything. I just don't like myself too much. And I always feel like I'm a piece of shit.

"Lets get you a bath." I say to sleeping Sofia. I drag the duffel bags to a corner of the room. I'll unpack in a little while.

I run the water in the jacuzzi and pour some of the baby-wash I packed into the water. As the tub fills up, I go back to the car seat.

"Sorry to wake you up..." I pick her up out of her car seat. I pay for that.

"NYEHHHHHH!" She screams directly into my ear. "Nehhhhh!"

"I'm sorry..." I lie her down on the bed and undress her. She had a diaper rash a few days ago that she's just now getting over. If she didn't have a rash, I wouldn't even bother to bathe her. I'd let her sleep. But you have to keep a rash clean.

"EHHHHHHH! EHHHHH!" She just keeps screaming and crying.

"I'll be quick, baby. I swear." I take her over to the water and sit her inside. I start with washing her back.

She slows down with the crying.

Using my hand, I wash her privates. I read in a baby magazine that if your baby has a rash, don't use a cloth to clean their privates, because it'll spread bacteria. I bet my mom doesn't know that.

I wash her hair next. I learned in my parenting class that you're not supposed to use extra shampoo in a baby's hair. It dries their scalp out real bad. You're supposed to use a little dab.

I owe a lot to the parenting class I took. I didn't have to take it or anything. It wasn't court ordered. I just thought that maybe I could learn to be a better mom by taking it. It still didn't make a difference to my mom.

I lift Sofia out of the water when I'm finished with her and dry her off. She sucks on a purple pacifier, lying naked on my towel.

I put a little bit of ointment on my fingers and rub it all over her personal area. I don't mind touching her stuff. But it's weird how different she looks from me. I guess everything's the same down there, but mine is just a little older. It just looks really different.

I strap a diaper on her and dress her in a plain white onesie. "Mommy's gotta take a bath too. You just sit right here until she's done."

I hand her a bottle and she drinks it herself. I turn on the TV for her to have some noise and I disappear into the bathroom.

Taking care of a baby is a lot of work, but I seriously don't mind. I love being her mother. I know I'm too young to have a baby, but at least my life has meaning. I'm not the best mommy, but I try really hard.

I unbutton my jeans and pull them down. I take off my t-shirt too. I pull down my underwear and sit down on the toilet to pee. I close my eyes and run my fingers through my thick, light and dark brown hair.

I open my eyes again and look down. "Oh..." The bright red blood in my underwear takes me by surprise. I get up off the toilet and roll my soiled underwear up in a ball. I put them into a plastic bag and throw them into the trash.

I used to hate getting my period, but i take it as a blessing now. Thank god that I'm not pregnant again.

I step into the nice shower and turn on my water.

I would like to say that I'm surprised that I got pregnant, but I'm really not. I wasn't responsible enough to keep up with my birth control.

I am, however, surprised that I got pregnant to Joe. I thought for sure it would be to someone else.

I fill my hands up with water and splash it on my face. I hold my face in my hands, and I just start to cry. I've been crying in the shower everyday for the past year and a half. It makes me feel a little bit better sometimes.

I'm not proud of the fact that when I got pregnant, I wasn't sure who's she was. I'm not proud of that. And I cried myself to sleep many of nights for that reason.

I used to try to convince myself that I wasn't that bad, but I really was. I was nasty. I don't think I was a "slut", but I guess the shoe fits.

I wash my body up really good and step out of the shower. I hold my towel on my face and wipe the last of my tears. Then, I wrap the towel around my body and grab my clothes and go back into the room. Sofia is asleep, and the bottle of milk is lying beside her.

I dry my body off and grab the little blue box of tampons. I grab a regular sized one and insert it. I used to use super plus ones, but Dallas made a comment about it once when we were arguing. She said "you use super plus tampons because you're already stretched out from all the dicks that went up there."

That hurt my feelings, so I just started using regular ones. I don't ever flow that heavy, so regulars do me okay.

I never got mad at Dallas for that. I guess she has the right to make whore jokes about me.

If it's any compensation, I always felt really bad after I had sex with anyone. I always regretted it.

I basically had sex with anyone that ever told me they loved me. To be loved... What more could you ask for?

I'm not sure if it was my promiscuity as much as it was stupidity. I mean, there's a fine line between being a slut and being stupid.

Maybe I was just stupid to fall for it whenever they said they loved me just to get me to take off my pants.

It sucks knowing that I'll have to explain this to Sofia someday.

I pull on a pair of fresh underwear and another bra. I put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and sit down.

You know... I might as well not even waste my time preparing myself. The reaction I'm going to get doesn't base itself off of how mentally prepared I am. I might as well suck it up.

I grab my phone and call Joe.

"Hello?" He answers on the second ring.

"Hey... I'm all settled in..." I say with a sigh. I'm nervous to actually say it, but I really have to be a big girl about this.

"Okay, cool. You want to come over or meet somewhere?"

"We can meet somewhere..."

"Okay... Where at?"

"Um... What about the Pinkberry? The one across from the medical center."

"The one with a playground?"

"Yeah. Where we always used to go."

"Okay. That's good. I'll meet you there in a half hour. That good?"

"Yeah."

"I'm excited to see you..."

"We're excited to see you too."

"I can't wait to see who you brought. It must be a really big surprise."

"...it's pretty big alright."

"Just tell me, Demi."

"You can wait a half hour."

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it's a surprise."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you."

"See you."

We both hang up the phone.

"I can't tell you, because you might not come if I told you." I whisper as I stroke Sofia's hair.

This is the moment. The moment I traveled for.

Might as well get it over with.

No turning back now.


	9. Questions

**Joe's Point of View.**

When I'm sure I've dressed nicely, I dash downstairs and grab my car keys. I'm so excited to finally see my Demi again.

"Isn't someone dressed spiffy?" My mom calls to me from the couch.

I stop in to see her. "Huh?"

"I said you're dressed nicely. Where you off to?"

I don't think I'm dressed nice enough for her to comment. I have one a light blue v-neck shirt and a pair of dark jeans with crisp white nikes.

My dad is busy rubbing her feet. Must be love. I hate feet. The only feet I've ever rubbed was Demi's. I've smelled her feet too. And I've kissed them. Her feet weren't that bad, but I'll NEVER kiss, smell or rub another pair of feet in my life besides hers.

"I'm going to Pinkberry to meet Demi. I'll be back in a while."

"Demi's in town?" My dad looks up from her feet.

"Yeah..." I know how he feels about Demi, but I honestly don't care. He doesn't like her because of how she moved away so suddenly and what it did to me when she moved.

"Tell her I said hi." He says gruffly.

"Tell her I said hi too. Bring her over a little later if she's feeling up to it. I'd like to see her." My mom takes a sip of iced tea.

"Alright. I'll see you guys a little later." I turn and leave the house.

I'm so excited to catch up with her. I wonder how different she looks. I'll bet she's still absolutely gorgeous.

I get into my car and back out of the driveway.

I'm excited to see her. So excited to see her.

But I'm real excited to see who she's bringing too. I'll be sure to get her number for Nick, if I can.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

Driving to go meet Joe is easily the most singlehanded thing that drives me crazy. I'm going nuts right now.

So many questions are just flying through my head. The biggest question though, is how will he react?

I'm not expecting anything from him, quite honestly. I don't know what to expect from him.

If it goes well, then I can feel like I've done another thing right. I can feel like I made the right decision by coming here.

If it doesn't go so well, then maybe I can go home early. I'll stay for an extra day, just to go see some sites with Sofia. Maybe I'll stay two extra days just to do some shopping and try and talk to my old friends. Then I'll leave. I'll never force anything on Joe. Never.

"Okay, baby girl. This is it." I start talking to Sofia. I look back at her through the rearview mirror.

She's cooing in her car seat. I can't see her face, but I can see that she's kicking her feet. She sounds happy, which is a good thing. She's not so delightful whenever she's cranky.

"We're gonna go meet your daddy." I make a turn coming off the highway. "I think you'll love him. Mommy did. He's funny and he's really sweet. Not to mention... He's super cute." I'm not sure if I'm talking to Sofia or talking to myself.

"You think daddy'll love you as much as I do? Hmm?" I turn into the parking lot of Pinkberry. There are a lot of kids outside playing at the playground, and the outside booth is open. There is no Pinkberry in Texas, so I really missed this.

I pull into a parking space and shut the car off. I'm so nervous. But this has to be done.

"Wish us luck, pumpkin." I say to Sofia when I lift her out of her car seat. It's too hot to bring the whole thing, so I leave the seat in the car.

Before I start walking to the playground, I fix Sofia. I want her to look her absolute best. I dressed her in a cheetah print onesie with black leggings. I strapped on sparkly black sandals for her and put a matching cheetah print bow on her head. She's adorable compared to my boring red shorts and white t-shirt with flip flops.

I hoist her on my hip and she naturally lies her head on my shoulder and sucks her pacifier.

Nervously, I begin to walk toward the playground picnic tables.

I see him. He's sitting at a picnic table wearing a blue shirt and he's looking down at his cellphone. I feel my phone buzz in my back pocket. He must be texting me. He doesn't see me yet.

I take a deep breath and walk down a flight of steps. The playground is really busy today, and there is a huge line at the yogurt booth. I bought some money to get me and Sofia some yogurt.

From the flight of steps, I walk down a cobblestone path, toward the picnic table he's at.

He finally looks up and notices me. He smiles and stands up.

I can't help but smile too. He's perfect, just the way I remember him.

He walks towards me and I keep walking at a steady pace.

"Demi..." He calls my name with a huge smile.

"Hey..." I say back. We finally meet each other, about five feet away from the picnic table.

He wraps his arm around me in an awkward hugging manner, being mindful of Sofia.

I hug him back with one arm. "What's up?" I'm smiling so big. And everything feels so right.

He's smiling real big too. "It's been so long! Your hair... You look..."

"Different?" I finish his sentence.

"Yes. But it's a good different." He takes his arm from around me and lets me go. "So who's this?"

I feel myself shrink. I'm going to die. "This? This is Sofia..."

"Sofia? Your mom's new baby?"

"Mhm." I nod.

"I thought her name was Bella... That's what they call her on twitter." He grabs Sofia's hand and puts his finger in her hand. "Hey little girl..."

"Her middle name is Bella." I explain. I feel like I'm about to cry. Just seeing him interact with her is amazing to me.

"She's pretty... Way prettier than the pictures I've seen on twitter." He shakes his finger in Sofia's hand which makes her smile at him.

She's pretty? She looks just like you. Can't you see that? "Yeah she's a pretty baby." I kiss her cheek.

"Lets sit down so we can talk..." He suggests.

I take a seat at the picnic table and he sits next to me, facing me.

I face him too.

"I still can't believe you're here..." He chuckles.

"I can't believe it either." I put Sofia on my lap and she keeps sucking on her pacifier, playing with my phone.

"So is this the surprise? Is SHE the surprise?"

"Mhm. This is your surprise."

"She's a cutie." He touches her hand again. Sofia smacks my phone with her chubby hands.

"Thank you..." I say. I probably just gave it away my saying thank you... But oh well. This is what I'm here for.

"What made your mom decide to let you bring her here?"

"It took a lot of convincing." I chuckle.

"What made you decide to bring her?"

"...It's a long story." I sigh. I chickened out. "So what's been up? How you been?"

"I've been good, Demi. Recording...stuff like that."

"Sounds cool. How's love?" I'm curious to know if he's moved on. I think he's seeing someone, but I'm not sure.

"Love is good." He laughs. "I met a friend. Her name's Ashley. She's really cool. You?"

"Been single."

"How's Texas?"

"Texas is... Boring. No friends or anything."

"You should stay here."

"I thought about packing up and moving here with Sofia and all..." I'm dropping so many hints.

"Your mom would let you take the baby?"

"...I don't know."

"You always have been a really good sister, Demi."

"Thanks..."

"You want to go grab some yogurt? The line's shorter."

"Sure." I swing Sofia on my hip again and walk with him to the booth.

"May I help you?" The server behind the booth asks.

"Yeah, I'd like strawberry frozen yogurt. With chocolate syrup." He orders. "Demi, what do you want?"

"I have money."

"It's fine. I'll pay. What do you want?"

"I'll take the same thing."

"That'll be $10.65." The lady says.

Joe hands her a 20. She gives him his change back.

When we get our yogurt, Joe carries both containers back to our seat.

I sit back down with Sofia on my lap.

"She's like your twin, Demi." He comments.

"I know..." I feed Sofia a spoonful of yogurt.

"Mmmmmm..." She moans while she eats which is adorable.

"Is that yummy girl?" Joe croons to her. I love seeing the two of them interact.

Sofia smiles at him, which is a good sign. She's generally taking a liking to him. Maybe I should tell him now...

"You guys really do look alike..." He keeps saying.

I just nod. "We should..."

"All of your moms babies look alike. I just can't believe she let you bring her here."

"She should have..." I mumble. I should just say it... "She's mine..."

"She's what?"

"Mine." I speak up. "She's mine."

"Yours? As in... Yours?"

"Mine as in I had her." I feed her some more yogurt.

"Mmmmmmmm." She moans.

"You had her?...WHAT?"

I just nod. "She's my daughter."

"Oh my god, Demi... Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie? That's why I moved..."

"You moved and got pregnant? I don't... Understand." He shakes his head. He can't take his eyes of Sofia now.

"I was pregnant when I moved." I mumble again. I'm about to cry.

"...I can't believe you had a baby...oh my god..." He reaches out and takes Sofia from my arms. "We told each other everything, Demi. And you didn't tell me?"

"I couldn't..."

"...Why did you have your mom pretend she's hers? She looks just like you..." He holds Sofia up. "Whatcha doing pretty? Your so pretty."

"My mom pretends she's hers because..." I'm hesitant to tell it. But this is what I came here for. "She pretends she's hers so I didn't have to deal with all the negativity and telling her dad about her..."

"...Dear god, who's her dad? Please don't tell me it's that bum from that loser ass band. What's his name?"

"Alex... And that's not her dad."

"Then it's Trace? Demi... He's such a druggie..."

"It's not Trace either." I sigh. He knows everyone I've had sex with. He knows that I've only had intercourse with three people. He just named two...

"...Who else did you... Was it... That one guy? From when you were drunk?"

"No, Joe." He's getting warmer.

"Did you lie to me?" He used my spoon to feed Sofia some more yogurt. "You must have had sex with more people then...right?"

"...No. Just the three you know about..."

"...So then... It's... It's me?" He looks up at me. There are clearly some tears in his eyes. I think he's scared.

"...I'm sorry for not telling you."

He stands up really fast. "You're a fucking liar, Demi. You really are a liar. You know that?" He's crying. I've never seen Joe cry before.

"Joe I'm sorry... I just... I wanted to tell you!" I try to apologize to him, but I realize that sorry can't fix this.

"She's not mine. You better test all the other guys you've fucked because..." He squeezes the bridge of his nose and keeps crying. "She's not mine, Demi."

"Joe I swear... I wouldn't lie to you." I shake my head. "Look at her... Your eyes... Your mouth..."

"...I'm sorry, Demi. This is just... Too fucking much." He turns and leaves me alone, sitting at the table with Sofia.

Well, that went fucking swell. Didn't it?

I remain seated at the table as I watch his car drive away.

A tear slips through my eye and falls down on the wooden table. I knew this would happen. I knew this.

I'm just sorry I did it to a baby as wonderful as Sofia.

"I'm sorry, fia. I'm sorry..." I apologize and kiss her cheek.

She eats her yogurt with not a care in the world.

I'm just glad she's too little to know what's going on.

I just can't wait to go home now.


	10. Not

**Demi's Point of View.**

I'm crying way too hard to drive home right away, so after I pack Sofia back up in the car, I sit in the parking lot of Pinkberry and allow myself to break down.

I don't know why I'm so upset. It's not like I didn't know it was a possibility that he would act like this. I knew that he would deny it. It still hurts like hell, though.

I need to vent to someone. My mom will probably be all "I told you so" and happy that he doesn't want anything to do with me or Sofia, but she's the only one I can call to right now. Dallas would be at school right now.

I grab my phone and call my mom. I just need to let it all out.

"Yes, Demi?" She answers.

"Mommy..." I mutter through my thick tears. My heart feels like it's in my stomach.

"What? What's wrong?" She actually sounds concerned.

"I did it..." I sniff.

"You did? I'm so proud of you, Demi. What did he say?"

I take a deep breath and sob my entire heart out into the phone. "He hates me... He hates me and he hates her. He called me a liar and stuff and he said I was nasty and to test all the other guys I've slept with and... I don't know... I just wanna come home."

"...I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry it didn't turn out the way you'd hoped." She says to me, softer than my mom's talked to me since we moved to Texas.

"I just... Wanted to...I wanted him to... I don't know." I sniff. I'm glad she not being mean about this. I'm glad she's being nice to me. I already feel badly enough.

"I know what you wanted. But sometimes, things don't turn out the way we want them too. You just need to be strong for your baby. I'm very proud that you had the guts to go see him and tell him. I'm very proud of you, Demi. I mean that."

I rest my head on the steering wheel and keep crying. "I wish you were here..." I'm starting to feel the same way I felt before my mom started being so hostile towards me. I used to be able to lean on my mom for everything. I'm feeling that way again.

"I wish I were there with you, too. But you gotta be strong and do things on your own. You hear me? It'll be alright, Demi. Sofia won't want for anything without him in her life. You'll be just fine raising her on your own. It's no problem, sweetie. He's a boy... He's just a boy. You can't expect anything more of him."

"I know... I just..." I sigh.

"I've gotta run now, kiddo. What's going on with coming home?"

"I'll probably come home in a day or two. I want to take Sofia a couple places before we leave... Make the trip a little bit worth it." I sniff again.

"Alright, Demi. I love you. Give Sofia kisses for me."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

I put my phone back into my purse and sigh. I think I'm well enough to drive now.

I start the car and back out of the parking lot.

I'm glad my mom wasn't all mean about it. That would've been the last thing I needed.

"Oooooowaaaahhhh..." Sofia moans really loud in the back seat. I think that was a yawn.

"I could use some sleep too, pumpkin." I mumble. My voice is so raspy from crying and my head is throbbing. I feel like absolute shit.

Once I get off the small overpass, I pull into the parking lot of our hotel and I lift Sofia out. I leave the car seat in the car and lock it up.

I'm ready to just lie down or something. I'd really like to go home today. I want to go back to Texas and pretend like this never even happened.

I love Sofia with every inch of my being, but sometimes I just wish I had been smarter. I would love to have Sofia - same person, same everything... Just a few years down the road. And especially not to Joe.

Out of all the possibilities that could have been her father, I was glad that it's Joe. I knew that Joe would be a good father for her, because he was the only one that ever told me they loved me and meant it.

Now, I don't think I'm so glad anymore. He's just like I thought he wouldn't be. Though, I still don't blame him.

Sofia and I get back up to the hotel room and I sit on the bed with her. She looks up at me with her big, pretty eyes.

"That was your daddy... What did you think?" I put my hands under her armpits and lift her up in the air.

She looks down at me, her cheeks all pink from the yogurt she ate.

"Did you like him?"

She just keeps looking at me.

"I thought you made a good impression, ladybug." I bring her down and kiss her on her yogurt-crusted cheek.

"...Muhmuhmuhmuh... Mumumumum..." She says, drool sliding all out of her mouth.

"I'm your mama. Okay? Say it. Mama... Mama."

"Muh muh muh muh!"

"Gimme kisses!" I pucker my lips to her.

She leans in and touches her lips to mine.

"Thank you, Sofia. I really needed that." I lean over and grab a baby wipe out of her diaper bag. I wipe her face off.

"Ehh ehhh ehhh!" She whines and waves her hands angrily at me.

"I'm sorry, you're just messy." I finish wiping her face and lie down in the bed with her. "We'll go to the beach tomorrow. That sound like fun?" I pat her butt.

She rests her head on my chest. "Ehhhh."

"We don't need a daddy." I rub her butt in circles.

Sofia falls asleep on me. I'm about to go to sleep too. But before I do, I just need to do something.

I grab my phone off the nightstand, careful not to wake her up. I check the time, first of all.

It's 7:32.

Then, I go through my recent calls and I call Joe. I'm not expecting much, but I hope he'll at least talk to me.

The phone rings, rings, and rings. He doesn't answer.

I'll call back some other time.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

My phone rings, but I can't find it within myself to answer.

I feel like someone just punched me in the stomach. I feel like something has just been stolen from me. I don't know how to explain the feeling I'm feeling, but it's a cross between anger and pure horror.

The way I felt about Demi has definitely changed. I used to think so highly of her. Now I know what Kevin was talking about yesterday. She's a damn liar.

I can't believe she just tried to pull that on me. I haven't seen her in a year and a half and the first thing she says to me is "you have a kid"? I just can't deal with that.

I can't stop crying. I haven't cried like this since my dog, Coco died. Oddly enough, when Coco died, Demi was the only one that let me cry on her shoulder.

I'm not gonna tell my parents about this. I'm not gonna tell anyone about this. I just want it to go away.

This isn't some dog that I can not take care of. It's a baby. A human being. It's not something that I can not acknowledge.

I can't talk to anyone about this. I can't even talk to Nick. I have to stay quiet. I really don't even think that the baby is mine.

I wore a condom every time me and Demi had sex. I can't even think of a time where I could have gotten her pregnant. If you use condoms right, you can't get pregnant. And I used them right. I always...ejaculated inside the condom and pulled out afterwards, carefully with the condom still on. I used it right.

Okay, there was one time. I came inside the condom and I pulled out. And the condom stayed in, because I forgot to grab it while I pulled out. But that couldn't have gotten her pregnant, right? That couldn't have, because I still came inside the condom. Not inside of her. So she can't be pregnant...right? The baby can't be mine.

I don't want children. I don't want to have a baby. Demi's baby isn't my baby.

I still won't call her a whore or anything. But she DID have sex with more people other than me. So why isn't she telling them that they're the kid's dad?

I know for a fact that the baby isn't mine. She doesn't look like me or anything. And when I held her, I didn't feel any connection to her. If she was my baby, wouldn't I feel something?

But what if she IS my baby? Then what? They both live all the way in Texas, when i will I ever get to see her? And I CAN'T be a dad. I don't know how to be a dad. I can't deal with a BABY.

I snivel and wipe my nose. I wish I could just stop crying. I haven't stopped crying since I got in my car and left Pinkberry.

I don't know what to do with this. I don't know what to do. Do I just forget about it? Do I just pretend like Demi never told me this?

Or do I tell somebody. Do I ask my mom what to do?

I don't know what I'll do. For now, I'm just going to sleep.

I roll over on my stomach in my bed and I cry myself to sleep.


	11. Scared

**Demi's Point of View.**

The next morning, I wake up around 9:30 in the morning. I fell asleep so abruptly yesterday evening that I didn't realize I wasn't in proper pajamas.

When I wake up, the first thing I do is check on Sofia. I'm surprised that she slept through the night. Maybe she was just as tired as I was.

I can't knock out like that any more though. I can't fall asleep so suddenly with the baby with me. But yesterday was just terrible. I couldn't do anything else besides sleep.

"Sofia... Sofia..." I whisper her name and tap on her diaper-padded butt. "Sofia..."

"Ehhhhh..." She wrinkles her eyebrows and whines at me. She likes to sleep, just like her daddy. And she's not a morning baby, just like her mommy.

"Wake up, Fia. We're gonna go have some fun today." I rub her on her back. Waking her up is like waking up a 40 year old man.

Finally, she pops open her big brown eyes and looks at me with a big yawn. "Ooooohahh..."

"Woo... Stinky breath." I wave her breath away. "But good morning beautiful." I pick her up and kiss her on her cheek.

"Muh muh muh muh..." She says sleepily. She brings her hands up to her mouth and chews on her fist.

I love hearing her call me mama. It makes me feel so special. I kiss her on her cheek again. "You hungry? Huh? That why you're chewing on your hand?"

She rests her head on my boobs and keeps chewing on her hand. "Numnumnum..."

I think it's so cute how she growls when she's eating something.

"Let's see if your daddy returned my phone calls." I grab my phone and pat her on her butt. I check my calls. Nothing from Joe.

I sigh. "I wish your daddy would call me back... Don't you?" I stand up and put Sofia on my hip. We're both hungry, so we'll go grab something to eat from the hotel cafeteria.

"Maybe not having a daddy won't be so bad. Then mommy doesn't have to share you with anyone." I kiss her on her head and ride down the elevator with her.

I am really upset that Joe won't answer or return my phone calls. I guess I understand where he's coming from. I just dropped a huge bomb on him. But I wish that he at least cared enough to not ignore me.

"Ehhhehh...ehhhh..." Sofia's getting a bit fussy, but I know that's only because she's a bit hungry.

"I know I'm getting there." I walk to the counter where orders are placed.

"What would you like darlin'?" A blonde woman asks me from behind the counter. She has a heavy southern accent. It reminds me of the diners in Texas.

"Um... Can I have an order of the banana pancakes?" I stare up at the menu hanging above her head. Sofia sighs hard in my arms.

"Sure thing. Is that all?" The woman scribbles my order down on a notepad.

"No... And... A large orange juice. An order of the eggs. No cheese, please. And...can you please have those eggs prepared scrambled, and very soft. With extra milk." I'm a little embarrassed to be asking all this of the poor woman. I know she's going to have to explain all that to the chefs.

"Sure thing, honey." She tears my order off the notepad and takes it back behind two swinging doors.

I walk to the side where orders are brought out.

"Ayyyygahh." Sofia coos and blows spit bubbles at me.

"Stop spittin' on mommy." I kiss her on her forehead.

"That's your baby darlin'?" The waitress lady asks me, busy wiping off the tops of the ordering counter.

"Yes ma'am." I nod at her. I really try not to be embarrassed.

"She's precious." She stops wiping and looks at Sofia.

"Thank you."

"How old is she?" She walks over to get a better look at Sofia.

"She's six months." I turn so that Sofia's face is visible.

"She's a little baby doll." She touches Sofia's hand and strokes her knuckles.

"Say thank you Sofia. Tell her thank you."

Sofia sighs and burrows her head into my chest.

"She's just shy." I laugh.

"She's just gorgeous, darlin'." The woman turns away from me and looks back towards the doors. "Your food is finished."

"How much will that be?" I reach in my pocket for my money. I can't find my money. It's probably in the jeans I wore yesterday. But I swear I had two twenties in my pocket.

"$16.75."

"Okay..." I continue to look for my money.

"Sweetheart, if you don't have the money on you, I'll just put it on my tab. Don't worry about it."

"I just had it in my pocket..." I check my front pockets as well as my back pockets.

"Don't worry about it, hun. I'll stick the food on my tab."

"...Thank you... Thank you so much. I'll give the money back..."

"Don't worth about that either. Just feed that baby."

"Thank you..." I say again and I grab the plate of food and the cup of orange juice.

I walk over and sit down at a table with Sofia on my lap. I start feeding her some of the eggs and myself some pancakes.

It was nice to have my mind off Joe for a little while, but my mind is right back on him again.

How much easier would it be to feed her if I had four arms, instead of two?

And most of all, I miss my best friend.

I wish Joe wasn't her father. Because then I'd still be able to talk him like we used to. I really miss him.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

I miss the times me and Demi used to have together. She was literally my best friend. She was my everything. We both told each other everything, but the sex was just sex. I don't know if it meant anything to her, but it meant something to me.

Looking at this picture of the both of us, my mind is flooding with memories and emotions. I remember the exact night this picture was taken.

We went out to Busch Gardens on a double date with Kevin and Danielle. She kissed me after we got off the merry go round and I picked her up. And I held her. And I loved her. I'm still not sure if she loved me.

I still don't know what to do. My mind is telling me to stay away. My mind is telling me to just keep doing what I'm doing by keeping my distance.

But my heart is telling me to pick up my phone and call Demi back. Usually, my heart wins in these situations.

My heart won the last time it and my mind were fighting. Like whenever my heart was falling in love with Demi every time we had sex together. My mind was telling me to keep my distance from her. Keep sex and my feelings different. My heart won that battle.

I don't know what I'll do if my heart wins this battle.

"Ay Joe." Nick knocks once then opens the door to come in my room.

I've been lying in bed since yesterday. I haven't gotten up to do anything but pee. I don't want to leave my bed at all.

"What, Nick?" I look up and shove the picture under the covers.

"I told you we're going down to the track. Are you coming or what?"

I'm usually always in the mood to go ride quads with Nick and Frankie, but I don't want to go today.

"No... I'm probably not gonna come today." I shake my head. If Nick sees my face at all, he'll know I've been crying. I hardly even got sleep last night.

"You aren't coming? What's wrong with you dude?" He steps into my room completely.

"Nothing, Nick. I'm just not coming." I mumble. I really want to tell Nick, but he has a blabber mouth.

"Okay dude." He turns to leave but be stops in his tracks. "Oh, I forgot to ask. How did you as Demi's date go?"

"It didn't..." I cave in and let it out. He better not tell anyone or I swear I'll kill him.

"...What do you mean it didn't?"

"Sit down." I sigh and sit up in my bed. I sniff and make sure there are no tears on my face.

"Spill your guts." He sits down on the edge of my bed turns toward me.

"Nick. If you tell anybody what I'm about to tell you..." I have to think of a threat that's good enough. "...You remember that time you told mom about me skipping school? How I shoved that bottle of Pepsi up your ass?"

He shudders. "Okay, I get it. I won't tell anyone."

"Alright." I sigh and begin the story. "Yesterday... I met Demi at Pinkberry..."

"What about the person she brought? She ever tell you who that was?" He interrupts me.

"Nick, shut up and listen." I snap at him. I'm in a really testy mood about all this, and I just want h to listen to me.

"Sorry."

I continue, "So we met at Pinkberry. And Nick, she was so beautiful. She has different hair and she got a little thicker...I stared at her ass for like five minutes and it's NICE." I smirk at myself. How easily I can get lost in the topic of Demi. "Anyway... It was different when we met. She had someone with her. And not the someone I was expecting. I was expecting her to have that dog we adopted together or maybe even Dallas. But she didn't have them. She had..." I hesitate. It's so hard to say it without crying. "She had a baby with her."

"Her little sister?" He interrupts again. He doesn't make me angry this time.

"I thought so." I shrug. "Anyway... She had a baby with her. And Nick, she was absolutely gorgeous. Thick brown hair, big eyes and chubby cheeks. Nick, she was a beautiful little baby." I sniff. "And I held her and stuff and I interacted with her. She was so lively and she age some yogurt that I fed to her."

"Sounds like fun. You...with a baby though?"

"...She told me the baby was mine, Nick." I look at him and his eyes get HUGE.

"What?!"

"Apparently I'm the kid's dad. She moved away because she was pregnant. And her mom's been passing the baby off as hers so that I wouldn't know."

Nick's looking at me like I just admitted to bombing the World Trade Center.

"S...So what are you gonna do?" He stutters.

"I don't even know if it's mine, Nick. Like what if she's just saying that? I don't know what to do. I mean... You know how Demi used to be..."

"Yeah... But if she flew all the way here... Don't you think she'd be sure?"

"I don't know..." I sigh.

"Did the kid look like you? What was her name?"

"Demi called her Sofia. So I think her name is Sofia, not Bella. And I didn't think so... But I've been thinking about it all night and she does look like me. She looks kind of like mom..."

"You have to be sure..."

"I just want it to all go away, Nick. I don't want a baby..."

"I wish I had advice to give you... But... I just really think you should tell mom. Not dad, but mom. And you should probably get a DNA test. Before she leaves."

"I don't want anything to do with the kid. She can't be my daughter. And if she is... I can't be a dad."

"Joe, what if that's your baby?!" He shouts at me, looking like I just slapped our mom.

I shrug.

"Joe she could be your daughter! Not your puppy... Your BABY. Come on, Joe. I know that you're pissed at Demi. You should be. But you can't take it out on the baby. She's innocent. And like it or not, she's probably yours. You act like you and Demi didn't hit the bed every night."

"I never said we didn't. She's been with other guys too though."

"And she's been with YOU. It's a possibility."

"Whatever..." I sigh. I hate it when Nick's right.

My mom will be more easy going than my dad with this, so talking to her is probably my best option.

It doesn't change the fact that I want nothing to do with the baby.

I can't be a dad. I'd screw a kid up.

I'd never tell anyone, but...

I'm too afraid to be a dad.


	12. Argue

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Just do it, dude. It'll be alright. I'll even sit with you if you want me to.." Nick's trying to encourage me, but his words aren't doing much for the way I feel. I still feel like hiding in my bed all day and crying.

"I don't know how to just tell her..." I put my face in my hands and run through my hair. "Jesus Christ."

"If you don't tell her, I will." He leaves on that note and goes downstairs to leave.

I think she'd be more angry if Nick told her before I did, so I have to suck it up.

I get up off my bed and start walking downstairs too. This isn't going to get much easier by me sitting here.

I go downstairs and go outside. My mom is probably in the garden. That's where she spends the majority of her time.

"Mom? You out here?" I sniff and wipe my eyes. My mother knows me better than I know myself, so without a doubt, she'll be able to tell that I've been crying.

"I'm by the tomatoes, Joey. Why aren't you off riding with the boys?" She stands up, kind of sweaty.

"I just didn't want to go."

She turns and looks at me. "What's the matter honey?" She puts down a pair of clippers and walks over to me. "Nick told me you weren't feeling too well. Everything alright?"

"I'm fine. I just really have to talk to you about something." I sniff again and sit down under the awning.

She sits next to me, her full attention on me. My mom is such a good mother. She and my father balanced out very well. You see, my mom always, always, ALWAYS wanted a little girl. So she had a tendency to baby me and my brothers, especially Nick. But my dad was super hard on us so we didn't turn out like punks. I'm beginning to think it didn't work much, because I'm feeling like a punk right now.

"You know how yesterday... I went out with Demi?" I start. I'm staring at the ground playing with a shard of grass.

"Yeah. How was that, honey? Did you have fun with her? You tell her I wanted to see her before she left?"

"...It went bad, mom."

She gasps. "It did? What went so bad about it?"

"...Is there anything I can do to make you hate me?"

"What did you do to her, Joseph?" She doesn't even answer me. She goes into her little blame-you mode. She does it to all of us. When we have girl problems, she always asks us what we did wrong. But it always seemed more intense when it involved Demi. Like she's expecting me to fuck up or something.

"I didn't do anything... I just... I'm really scared about something. And I really need your advice." I sigh.

"What happened? I swear you and that girl have more problems than the law allows. I don't know why you just won't marry each other." She shakes her head.

"You know how um... You know how Miss Dianna had another baby? Like recently?"

"Oh yes. You told me about that. I've never seen the baby, though. I've heard about her. What's her name?" She folds her hands.

"Bella." My jaw gets tight just by saying her name. "At least that's what they called her." I mumble.

"Bella. That's right. Bella. Okay...continue."

"Well... When I met her at Pinkberry... She had the baby with her..."

"Her mom let her bring her all the way here? Oh my..." She shakes her heads obviously disagreeing with the action. "What'd she look like?"

"Who, Demi? She was amazing, mom. Her hair was...different. And she's gained a little weight. But her face...she's still so facially beautiful."

"I was talking about the baby."

"...likewise. She was absolutely gorgeous, ma. Easily the prettiest baby I've ever seen in my life. She looked fake. Like she was too adorable to be real." I smile just thinking about her. She's so pretty. "And she held my finger while I fed her some frozen yogurt. And she was talkative too. She had A LOT to say."

My mom smiles. "I'm surprised you were good with her. She sounds like an amazing baby."

"She is...or was." I shrug. "But then... Demi got all weird with me. And she let me hold the baby." I'm about to start crying again. "And I held her...and she laid her little head on my chest..." A couple tears fall from my eyes. My mom hands me a wad of tissues from her pocket.

I finish up, "Demi told me that she was actually the baby's mom. And her mom had been passing her off as her own so Demi wouldn't have to tell me. And apparently... I'm the baby's father."

My mom's face turns quickly. She looks like she just ate a piece of sour candy and it took her by surprise at how sour it was. "...Is... Is she sure?"

"I'm guessing. I want a DNA test or something... But I haven't answered her phone calls. I don't know what else to do besides... Ignore it..."

"Joe, I don't think she'd fly out here to tell you this if she wasn't sure..."

"That's what Nick said. But mom, I don't want a kid. Like... Is she expecting me to take care of her or something? Does she want child support?"

"I don't know what she wants, but you should figure that out." She pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head. "Is it even possible?!" She's angry now, I can tell.

"We had sex a lot... But I used a condom every single time."

"Don't lie to me, Joseph!"

"Mom, I did! Every time we had sex, I used protection!"

"THAT MUST NOT BE TRUE BECAUSE NOW THERE'S A BABY!"

"Every time, mom. There was one time when I pulled out without the condom, but I still used one... It was a mistake..." I pinch the bridge if my nose too and cry.

"A mistake?! JOE IT'S A BABY!"

"I don't even... I don't know if it's mine..."

"Did you sleep with her?!"

"...Yes."

"Had she started her period at the time?!"

"...Yeah..."

"Did you do your business inside of her?!"

"Yeah, but..."

"Then there's a possibility!"

"But mom..."

"But nothing! You PROBABLY have a baby and you're just sitting here!"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Go see her! Go get to know her! Go get a DNA test!"

"But mom... I really don't want anything to do with either one of them..." I shake my head. "Demi lied to me..."

"You can't punish that baby for what she does to you. Don't go over there for Demi. Go for that baby."

"What if she's not mine? I'll be so disappointed..."

"You have to make an effort to find that out. If she's not yours, then she's still one of your friend's babies. And if she is yours, then you got close with your daughter. But I'm NOT letting you desert my grandbaby."

"Don't call her that until I know for sure."

"You go and see her, Joseph. You go. And when you straighten things out, bring me that baby. I'll know if she's a Jonas. Trust me... I WILL know."

I sigh. "Alright mom..." I stand up. "Thanks."

I still don't feel any better, but at least I have an idea of what to do.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Woo!" I twirl Sofia around in the water. She loves to go swimming, and the hotel pool was perfect for her.

"Eeehh gehh." She smiles at me and kicks her feet.

"You're a water bug, aren't you?" I'm holding her so tight that nothing in this world could make me let her go. We're in the shallow end of the pool, but I'm sitting down so that she can semi-stand up in the water.

"You ready to go take a bathy? Huh? You ready to go take a bath and eat? Then we can go out and go sightseeing. Sound like fun?" I stand up and get out of the pool. She holds onto the strings of my bathing suit.

"You wanna eat eat? Hmmm?" I wrap a towel around the both of us and head upstairs to our room. I take the steps instead of the elevator.

"You're so pretty pumpkin." I open up the door with our room key and kiss her on her cheek. "You have fun in the pool?"

"Ehhhh." She coos and kicks her feet some more.

I run the water for the jacuzzi-tub and put bubble bath in it. I undress Sofia and put her in the water. Normally I'd take a bath with her, but periods and bubble baths don't mix very well.

"You want to go shopping? Hmm?

Get some new clothes?" I massage shampoo into her thick hair.

"Ehhh heh!" She starts whining. She really doesn't like to get her head wet.

When I'm done washing her hair, I lift her out of the tub. She's holding onto me right and shivering.

"I've got you." I kiss her cheek and lie her down on the bed. I take the towel and dry her off.

She yawns, "oooooooohhhwah."

I gasp. "Look at them teeth! Look at thems!" I use my finger and tickle her chubby cheek. "Look at thems!"

She smiles me and giggles. "Heh heh heh."

"Show mommy them munchers!"

She looks at me and gives me a drool-filled smile.

"Okay. Mommy has to take a shower now. Can you be good until she gets out?" A strap a diaper tight on her bare butt and let her go shirtless.

Just then, my cell phone starts ringing. It's the real basic ringtone, so I can't tell immediately who it is.

I pick it up and look at it. It's Joe. What does he want?

"...Hello?"

Sofia grabs the remote and puts it to her ear like she's on the phone too. I chuckle at that.

"Are you at the hotel?" Joe mumbles through the phone.

"...yeah.

"Which hotel is it?"

"The Mariott. Right across the overpass from Pinkberry..."

"Can I come over or...something?"

"...Why don't I meet you somewhere?" I don't want him to come over. I don't want him to come to the hotel room just to insult me and leave again. I'd rather meet at a mutual place.

"Where do you want to meet at?" He sounds like he's crying. I feel bad.

"Um... At the..."

"Let's meet on the boardwalk, by St. Michael's." He suggests.

"Okay..."

"Meet me in a half hour."

"...Alright."

He doesn't even say bye. He hangs up.

When I put my phone down, Sofia puts the remote down too.

"Was you talkin to daddy with me?" I put my hands under her armpits and pick her up. "Daddy's an asshole, isn't he?"

Since I have to meet Joe in a half hour, I have to nix the shower I was going to take. I don't smell bad or anything. I just wanted to get the chlorine off my legs.

I put Sofia in a white onesie with a yellow sunflower on it. I strap yellow sandals on her feet too. I would put shorts on her, but it's supposed to be very hot today.

I brush her hair forward with a very soft brush.

"We're gonna go see daddy."

I get myself dressed. I put on a pair of jean shorts and a plain black tank top. I comb through my straight hair. I need to get my blonde highlights redone, because they look like they're fading.

I always try to make sure I look good whenever I go see Joe. But I make Sofia look good too.

We both have to be extra pretty to see him.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

The entire drive to the boardwalk, I'm thinking. Thinking about what I want to come from this visit.

Well, first of all, I want to see the kid. I want hold her and stuff, but I don't want to get so attached to her.

Then, I want to ask Demi for a test. And we'll call around to see where we'll get the test and all.

And if this visit goes... well, I want to schedule a time where I can see her again.

If I have a baby, I do want to be there for her. I want to protect her from everything I can possibly protect her from, and I want to support her. I'm really not sure how to be a daddy. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't want to be one. But I realize what my mom said is true. It's not her fault.

Demi, on the other hand, I don't want anything to do with her. She lied to me. She kept our baby from me. I used to think that I wanted to be with her. I used to think that she was going to be my wife someday. But she's a liar.

I park my car in the parking lot of the boardwalk and step out. I'm done with the crying. I'm still hurt, but I'm mostly just angry at Demi. I can't believe she kept her from me. I can't believe she LIED to me.

I lock my car and shove my keys in my pocket. I slowly walk to the entrance of the boardwalk and look out at the ocean.

There are families here, enjoying the nice day at the beach. A father's holding into his daughter's hand as he takes her out deeper into the ocean. I wonder if I'll ever be able to do that with my daughter.

I sigh and lean on the wooden railing of the boardwalk. I look down into the sand at the couples making sandcastles with their kids. That could never be me now. I don't want anything to do with Demi.

I hear footsteps walking towards me. When I look up, it's them.

They're both beautiful. Demi's long, brown hair is blowing in the slight ocean breeze. She's tiny, with a tiny waistline and short, thick legs. I can't help but think about the way her legs used to wrap around my waist when she wanted me deeper. How soft they used to be. And how sweet the inside of her thighs tasted; how they used to shake when she'd climax. Why did she have to lie to me?

I really want to kiss her. Her lips used to be so soft. And her breath always tasted sweet, even in the mornings. I miss how she used to use her thumb and wipe the excess spit from my mouth whenever we were done kissing. I miss how her arms would wrap around my waist when she'd stand on the balls of her feet to kiss me. And how my arms wrapped around her tiny waist.

"Hey..." She greets me. She's not smiling at me. Her lips are closed and her beautiful brown eyes look worried.

"Hi." I say back. I turn my attention to Sofia, and she notices.

"...You can hold her." She offers, her voice raising up in a more friendly tone.

I shake my head and look down. "Nah."

"...Can we talk?"

"That's why we're here..."

"...Somewhere more private?" She looks around.

I sigh and walk over to a pavilion where food is served. It smells like chicken and tacos under the pavilion. Demi follows me with Sofia in her arms.

I sit down at a table in the far back of the pavilion. She sits across from me. It would be so much easier for me to be mad at her if she wasn't so beautiful.

"...So what is there to talk about?" She taps her slender, tiny fingers against the table.

"I think you know what's to talk about, Demi."

She looks down and kisses Sofia on top of her head.

I decide to start off with what's bothering me the most. "How could you lie to me like that, Demi? I thought... I thought you were my best friend. You lied to me..."

She looks up at me. "I'm sorry! I just thought that... I thought that if you knew, I'd lose you..."

"So you decided to just keep her from me?! How long did you plan to keep this shit up?!"

"We weren't going to tell anybody. But I couldn't keep hiding it..."

"Demi, you KNEW how I... How I felt about you!"

"No I didn't! Joe... You always told me that... I was your best friend!"

"Demi what are you talking about!? I LOVED YOU. And you knew I did!"

"...Loved?"

"Yes. LOVED. But I DON'T love you anymore! You're a liar..."

"I didn't mean to lie... I was too scared... I... You never wanted a baby..."

"And I still don't! That won't change!"

"Stop yelling at me. You're upsetting her."

"She should be upset that her mom's a liar."

Demi puts her hand over her face and starts crying.

I didn't mean to make her cry.

"...Hey..." I reach out and hold her hand. "I'm... I'm sorry. Don't cry..."

She sniffs. "I'm sorry for lying... Joe... I was sixteen at the time... I didn't know what to do. And I was moving... I didn't want to move... But I didn't have a choice."

"You still could've told me about her."

"I know..." She sniffs again.

"...Can I hold her?" I sigh and hold my arms out to Sofia.

Sofia leans away from me. "Ehhh..."

"Sofia, it's daddy. It's daddy. Let daddy hold you." Demi picks Sofia up off her chest and hands her to me.

"I don't want her calling me daddy yet, Demi." I take her.

"Why not?"

"Not until I know for sure she's mine."

"...She's yours."

I hold Sofia on my lap. "Hey little girl. I saw you yesterday. Remember me?" I turn her so that I can get a decent look at her. She really looks like my mom. Her hair is just as dark as my mom's hair and the shape of her eyes are the same shape as my mom's. "You're pretty."

"...told you she's yours." Demi wipes her eyes with a napkin.

"I still want a DNA test. To be sure."

"...No." Demi shakes her head.

"...No?!"

"No. I don't need a DNA test. She's your baby. I know that for a fact."

"Demi you know you slept with..."

"DON'T bring my past up. DON'T start with calling me a hoe. I get enough of that from my own family."

"I'm just saying..."

"And DON'T just say. I know who my daughter's father is. You're the only one I slept with around that time. And you know that."

"No, Demi. I don't know that." I rub Sofia's back. She's such a cute little baby.

"JOE. Stop making it seem like I fucked 20 other guys. I'm not a hoe."

"Oral sex is sex, Demi. Just keep that in mind."

"...So now you're going to tell me that getting eaten out can get me pregnant?"

"I know you. And I know that there's no way you'd stop after just oral."

"I'm about to punch you in your fucking face. I don't have to explain SHIT to you, but since you're being a fucking DICK about it, here's how it is. I haven't FUCKED anyone else besides you since LAST June. I haven't had sex in almost two years. Yes, I've been eaten out by... 7 guys, INCLUDING YOU. I've only had SEX with three. INCLUDING YOU. All in all, I have TEN bodies, but only THREE OF THEM have put their... DICKS inside of me."

"Whatever, Demi. I still want a DNA test..."

"Then give me my baby. If you're SOOOOO not sure, give me my daughter." She holds her arms out for Sofia.

"Stop it. I'm allowed to hold her."

"Not if she's not yours! If you think I'm that much of a slut that you don't know if she's yours or not, GIVE ME MY BABY."

"Stop acting a fool before I shove my foot up your ass."

"You won't do shit." She rolls her eyes.

It's not like it's the first time me and Demi have argued like this. We always used to threaten each other. She used to slap me in my back when I pissed her off, and I'd hold her against the wall. Of course, our fights always led to sex.

"Give me Sofia. We're leaving." She stands up and slings a diaper bag over her shoulder.

"Sit your ass down, Demi. Stop acting like a damn fool."

"Fuck you."

"You already did."

"Yeah, and you got me pregnant."

I can't explain it, but I love her. I love her so much. I think that's why we argue so much. If we were together, this would lead to make up sex. But we aren't together.

She takes Sofia out of my arms. "I'm not staying here while you insult me. I don't need this shit."

"Bye." I wave.

"Just shut up, Joe! You're such a dick..."

I laugh at how mad I made her. "Demi..."

"What?!" Her face is so red. She looks so pretty.

"I love you."

She's still pissed off, but she cracks up too. "I love you too."

I stand up and give her a tight hug. I really missed arguing with her.

"... But I still want a DNA test."

She sighs. "UGHHHHHH!"


	13. Care

**Demi's Point of View.**

"You think maybe I could take her to go see my mom?" Joe asks me. He's holding Sofia in his hip and walking along the boardwalk next to me.

Sofia is busy eating a red Popsicle. The majority of the Popsicle is on her chest and on her cheeks.

"I thought you weren't sure she's yours..." I eat my own blue Popsicle.

"Must you be such a bitch?" He scoots Sofia up on his hip.

"I'm just saying..."

"I don't know if she's mine, Demi. I think she is. Deep in my heart, I think she is. But I don't know for sure. I just want to take her to visit my mom..."

"I guess. I mean, that is her grandmother..." I shrug. "I'll bring her to your house tomorrow."

"Why not tonight?" He stops walking abruptly.

"Because I'm tired and I have to take a shower and unpack and stuff." I throw the rest of my Popsicle away.

"...Then let me take her."

"Absolutely not!"

"Demi, don't be like that." He rubs Sofia's bare back. I took her onesie off so that her Popsicle wouldn't stain it.

"You're not taking my baby anywhere without me!"

"You're contradicting yourself."

"No I'm not..."

"You are." He kisses Sofia's chubby cheek. "If she IS my daughter like you say she is...you shouldn't keep calling her yours... when she's ours."

"Whatever. You're still not taking her without me." I hold my arms out for Sofia.

"Come on, Demi. Let me take her. Just for a little while. While you take a shower and unpack. I'll bring her back and everything. I promise..."

"No... Joe. She doesn't know you..."

"Let her get the chance to know me. And her grandma..."

I sigh. "Fine. But..."

"No buts. I promise I won't kill her. I'll be fine. She'll be fine."

"...Take care of my baby, Joe." We get to our cars.

"I will. I'll take care of our baby."

"...Just let me clean her up first..."

"I got it, Demi! Just give me her diaper bag. That's all I need."

I hand him her diaper bag and grab the car seat out of my car. "Here. She has formula in there, but the already filled bottle is breastmilk. Will you give her that if she gets hungry? And if you change her diaper, put powder on her butt."

"I got it, Demi. Say daddy's got it, mommy." He takes her Popsicle stick and throws it on the ground. "Say when daddy brings me back, I'll be all clean and ready to go night night."

I sigh again. I'm so worried about him taking her. I'm so so so so SO worried.

"Daddy's got it, mommy. Rest easy." He straps Sofia into her car seat.

"Daddy?" I repeat him.

He shrugs. "I just like the sound of it."

"Seriously, Joe. Take care of her." I open the door to my car.

"I will, Demi. I promise."

"I'll see you."

"I'll bring her back around 9:30. Is that okay?"

"Sure..." I shut the door and start my car.

I can't believe I'm getting ready to leave my baby with him.

He is her dad, though. So I guess I have to let it go. It'll give them time to bond.

Him taking her is better than him ignoring my phone calls like he did nearly two days ago.

So I guess it'll be okay.

He just better take care of her.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

"You excited to go see grandma? Grandma's excited to see you." I put Sofia's car seat in the backseat of my car.

I get in the drivers seat of my car and pull out of the parking lot.

"Muh muh muh muh!" She jabbers in the backseat.

I grab my phone and call my mom.

"Mom? Yeah... Listen... I have the baby with me... Yeah. We're coming over. I'll tell them. But yeah... No. Demi's not coming. She's getting some things done at the hotel. Years. Okay..." I hang up.

I don't know why, but holding Sofia just made me realize that I love her. I don't want to be a dad. I REALLY don't want to be a dad. But I really love my baby.

Somewhere inside of me, I know that she's mine. I know that she's my daughter. I just really want to be sure by getting the test.

I know I've been in love before. I've been in love with Demi for almost three years. But the love I feel for my little girl is so different than the love I feel for Demi.

I just met Sofia, but I would already jump in front of a train for her. And I really like the way "daddy" sounds.

"Mumumumum..." She jabbers some more.

"You miss mommy already?" I look at her through the rearview mirror. I can't see much of her besides her tiny little feet poking out of her yellow sandals.

I turn into my driveway and park the car. My mom is sitting on the porch, waiting for us.

I'm glad my dad isn't home, because I don't feel like explaining anything to him right now. The only ones that will be in the house are me, Sofia and my mom until everyone else comes home at 8:30.

"Ooooh! Let me see! Let me see!" My mom hops down off the porch and rushes over to the car.

"Wait a minute..." I say to her, smile wide across my face. I unstrap her from her car seat and lift her out the car. Her chest is all sticky from her Popsicle and her cheeks are sticky too.

"Oh my gooooooood! Look at her!" She holds her arms out.

I hand her Sofia and she is ecstatic. "She's so cute... Why is she topless?"

"Demi didn't want her to stain her onesie." I grab the diaper bag out of the car too.

"Hi honey... Hi..." She holds Sofia up in the air to look at her. "Hi pretty little girl!"

I lock up the car and shut the doors.

"Did Demi agree to a DNA test?" She pushes Sofia's head against her chest and cuddles her.

"Not exactly... But if we want one, I don't think she'd care."

"She looks just like me, Joe. Look at her eyes. And her ears. She has your elf ears."

"I know she's mine, mom. I just want to be absolutely sure."

"She's how old?" She begins to walk back to the house.

I follow her. "Six months, Demi said."

"You can call me MiMi. I'm gonna spoil you." My mom rubs her back. "Demi got a change of clothes in there for her?"

"I don't know, I didn't look. She did tell me to feed her though."

"We'll clean her up real good before we feed her. She's sticky from her Popsicle."

"Aaaaaawhhhh..." Sofia yawns real big.

"Someone's sleepy." My mom takes her to the kitchen.

"Do we have baby soap?"

"No. We'll just use water to clean her off. Can't use out soap. Her skin is way too delicate for that." She starts the tap water.

I take Sofia's diaper off. Her butt is so cute. It looks just like Demi's butt.

My mom uses a clean dishrag and wipes Sofia's face and chest off. "You know your father is going to be angry, don't you..."

"I know..."

"But he'll come around and accept her." She keeps cleaning Sofia off.

"He's gonna have to. She's my daughter."

"You know he's not going to be easy on Demi either..."

"Yeah, I know. But Demi doesn't matter as long as she's taken care of. I don't even want to be with Demi..."

"Come on Joe. I don't believe that."

"I don't..."

"Don't lie to yourself."

I sigh.

Okay. I do want to be with Demi.

I'm just not ready to forgive her.

I can't forgive her yet.


	14. Fight

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Mom, do you think that dad would be okay with her?" I'm holding Sofia tightly. She's still naked from my mom and I washing her up. Her wet body is getting my shirt wet too.

"I don't know, Joe. I would've told him about it sooner if you would've told me you were bringing her." She rummages through the diaper bag looking for a change of clothes.

"I had to beg Demi to even let me take her. It wasn't easy..." I kiss Sofia on her cheek and rub her baby-soft butt. I think she's tired, because she keeps blinking and rubbing her eyes. It's crazy how I just know. It's like...this instinct. A daddy instinct.

"She's tired, Joe." My mom takes her off me and lies her on the couch. When she takes her from my arms, I feel naked. I feel like I need her in my arms.

"I know she's tired. I'll put her to sleep." I watch carefully as my mom puts a fresh diaper on her and a pink onesie. I lean down and put a pair of socks on her tiny little feet.

"We don't have anything for her to sleep in. You need to get her car seat out of your car."

"She can sleep in my arms." I put my hands under her armpits and pick her up gently. She moves her head around in an effort to find a comfortable position. When I bring her to my chest, she immediately rests her head on me.

"She can't sleep in your arms. That's how you spoil a baby. Lay her on the couch or something."

"Mom. I've missed six months of her life already. I think she can sleep in my arms for a few hours." I position my hand under her body and sit down on the couch with her. My mom sits next to me.

"When are you thinking about getting the DNA test done?" She puts a bib around Sofia's neck and hands me a bottle.

"...I don't know." I shrug. "I don't know if I want one..." I look at the bottle. I've never seen bottles like this before. I've never seen bottles with baggies in them.

"You need to make up your mind, Joseph. If you want one, you need to get one."

"I'm thinking about it. I don't really want to know if she's mine. If she isn't, I'll be heartbroken. I already love her, ma. Isn't that crazy?"

"You should love her. I can tell just by looking at her that she's your baby."

"You can?" I put the bottle nipple into Sofia's mouth and watch her suck on it.

"I sure can. It's in her eyes. And her nose. Look at the shape of her lips... The dimples in her cheeks... She looks like you."

"You think?" I look down at her and smile. Her eyes are growing heavy with every ounce of milk she drinks. "I think she looks like her mother. Which is a terrible thing."

"Joe. You can't stay mad at her forever. You have a baby with her."

"Yeah and she made me miss out..." I keep holding the bottle for Sofia.

"You have to move on from that. I know it hurts, but think about your baby."

I sigh. "It just sucks, because I want to hate her so much for what she's done. But at the same time, I just want to love her."

"You need to figure out what you want. Because your little girl needs you." She adjusts my hand on Sofia's bottle.

"But what if she's not mine, mom? Then what?" I look down at Sofia, still holding her bottle. She's sucking hungrily, rubbing her chubby little hands along the outside of her bottle.

"Joseph. If you have that much doubt in your heart then you need to stop right now and call Demi to pick her up. If you think in your heart that she isn't yours, you need to stop letting yourself attach to her."

"I can't put her down, ma. I can't... I love her. All I wanna do is hold her." I lean down and press my lips to her soft forehead.

"Hehhhh..." Her whine is soft and fragile, like it'd break if caught in the wrong air.

"You know that she's yours. You know that. You wouldn't feel so strongly about her if you knew she wasn't."

Sofia shakes her head, knocking the nipple of her bottle from her mouth. Softly, she starts to cry. "Ehhhhh..."

"Are you full? Hmm? Are you full honey?" I put her bottle on the coffee table and lift her up so she's not lying down.

"You have to burp her, Joe. Her tummy will hurt if you don't."

I lie Sofia's head against my shoulder and pat her back. "I wish she'd poop or something..." I let a small laugh out.

"You wish she'd poop?" My mom's tone rises, questioningly.

I nod. "I want to change her diaper. I want to change a poopy diaper. I wouldn't mind it. I've already missed out on poopy diapers..." I keep patting her back.

"You say that now..." She strokes Sofia's hair so that it lies down smoothly. "She's got a lot of hair."

"She's perfect." I turn my head and kiss Sofia on her lips. She breathes with her mouth open, her breath filling my nose. Her breath is sweet-smelling, like fresh milk.

"This is coming from my son that told me he never wanted kids..." My mom teases. She drapes a light, pink blanket over Sofia's body as she lies on my shoulder.

"I didn't..." I stare at Sofia's butt and her little legs. Her white and pink diaper sticks out of her onesie. "She just changed everything for me, though. She's my baby..."

My mom stands up from the couch. "You need to let that baby sleep, Joe."

"She is sleeping..."

"Put her down and let her sleep."

"She can sleep on me." I slouch down on the couch and let Sofia lie on my chest. Her tiny little body rests on my lower stomach and her tiny little head is slumped on my abs. She's sleeping peacefully.

"Demi's gonna kill you for spoilin' that baby."

"She'll just have to kill me." I stroke Sofia's back. I'm not putting my baby down.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

"I had to get some unpacking and stuff done at the hotel, so I let him take her."

"You let him what?!" My mom exclaims on the other end of the phone.

"Calm down! It's fine. I'm going back to get her in a little while. I let him take her back to his house. Apparently his mom wanted to see her." I flop down on the comfortable hotel bed, clutching my towel to my naked body.

"You let him take her to his house, Demi?"

"Mom. Calm down." I sigh. "That's the reason I came here... I'd rather him be taking her than to have him ignoring her."

"So what's going on with you two now, Demi?"

"Nothing. We're just... Co-parenting our daughter."

"Are you gonna sleep with him?"

"Mom!" I roll my eyes. She canNOT get over the fact that I used to sleep with a lot of guys. I'm different now, though. I don't do ANY of the things I used to.

"I'm just asking. If you do, please be careful. Sofia's an enormous little blessing. But we don't need any more."

"I'm not sleeping with Joe. It's not even like that. We're nothing, mom. Nothing."

"I just remember he had you in tears yesterday, Demetria. And now you're letting him take your baby?"

"Things change! God, just shut up. I'm so tired of you telling me what a shitty mom I am."

"You know what, Demetria? I'm SICK of your attitude."

"I'm sick of you putting me down!"

She hangs up on me. I'm so sick of this, my god. I do NOT deserve to be treated this way. Yes, I HAVE a pretty shitty past. Yes, I MADE MISTAKES. But I'm really trying to better myself. And it seems like she can't accept that.

I clutch my white towel to my body and start to cry softly. I don't understand why my mom insists on breaking me down. I do a good enough job of bringing myself down without her doing it to me too.

When I'm finished crying the little bit I did cry, I reach over and grab my phone. I check the time. It's 8:51. It's time for me to get dressed and go get Sofia. I'm tired. It's been a long fucking day.

I get up from the bed and drop my towel. I avoid looking at myself in the mirror. I'm not too proud of my post-baby body. I have a little bit of stretch marks left. They're mostly on my boobs. I rubbed cocoa butter all over my body to get rid of them while I was pregnant. It worked for everywhere except my boobs.

I had to work out a while lot to get rid of my baby belly, and now it's flat. I'm proud of myself.

The most beautiful thing about pregnancy is that it gave me two cup-sizes worth of bigger boobs. Dallas told me not to get too excited, because its all milk and when my milk dries up, I'll be back to being flat chested.

I wipe myself with my towel to dry myself off. My period is gone. Another thing about being pregnant is that it fucked my whole cycle up. My periods only last a few days now, which isn't a bad thing but it can get frustrating.

I pull on a pair if my pink underwear with white lace trim and put on one of my best bras. My best bras are the bras I wear whenever I wear tank tops. I wear nursing bras to go to sleep.

I wiggle a pair of blue shorts up to my hips and put on a white tank top. I slide on my flip flops, grab my car keys and head outside to my rental car.

It's killing me that Joe and I don't want to be together. Don't get me wrong. I would LOVE to be with Joe again. I would love nothing more than to raise Sofia together. But I did lie to him, and I did hurt him. So I respect his decision to have nothing to do with me.

I drive down the long, winding highway. It's getting darker by the second as I drive. I really miss Sofia. I wonder what she and Joe did while I was away.

I turn around a corner to go up into the Jonas's property. Their property is huge. It's like a maze to get to their driveway.

I drive through opened gates, turn three corners up a winding road and pull into their driveway. The house is dark, except for one light illuminating from the room I remember as the kitchen. It's been years since I've been in this house. I wonder if I'm still welcomed.

I ring the doorbell. The bell sounds like it belongs to a castle.

Joe answers the heavy wooden door, pulling it open and standing aside. "You can come in." I notice him looking at me. He looks at me from head to toe.

I step into the house. It's still just as clean as I remembered it. Denise always keeps a clean house. It smells like cleaning products in here, mixed with cookies. It's a homey smell.

"Where's Sofia?" I ask, sliding off my shoes. I still remember the shoe rule in this house.

"She's sleeping." He doesn't even look at me as we walk through the dark hallway and into the lit up living room.

Denise is sitting on the couch next to my sleeping baby. Danielle is sitting on the other side of Sofia too. I feel very uncomfortable. His family probably hates me.

"...Hi." I say as cheerfully as possible with a light wave.

Denise smiles warmly at me. "Hi Demi." She waves back. Danielle waves too.

"...Is she ready to go back to the hotel?" I nervously rock back and forth on my feet.

"She might be ready, but I'm not ready for her to go..." She looks down at Sofia and strokes her hair while she sleeps.

I smile at that. I'm glad she's taken a liking to her. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Very much so." She nods. "Joe and I washed her up a little bit, then she had a snack. And she went right to sleep." She keeps rubbing her hair.

"I'm glad you guys had fun..." I grab the diaper bag off the love seat. "I'll have to bring her back sometime."

"Please do." Carefully, she picks Sofia up off the couch. She's sleeping hard.

Joe comes from behind me. "We need to talk before you take her."

"...About what?"

"Just come talk, Demi. Jesus..." He forces me to put the diaper bag down and he walks back towards the front door.

I sigh and follow him outside onto the front porch. "What do you want?"

"...I want to see her again tomorrow."

"Okay... You can see her tomorrow.." I shrug.

"Can she swim? I'd like to bring her over here to go swimming. So she can meet the family."

"She can go swimming. I take her swimming all the time." I look down at the ground.

"...Can I keep her for the night?"

"NO!" I loom at him like he's fucking crazy. "Are you nuts?!"

"Come on, Demi. I'm her dad..."

"...No. You don't have anything for her to sleep in, nothing to feed her in the morning... No bath stuff... No."

"Demi, don't. Please don't do this. I want to see my damn daughter."

"And you can! Tomorrow... She stays with me for the night."

"If we're going to have a baby together, Demi. We need to learn how to co-parent. And I think I deserve her for the night."

"NO. I'm not gonna say it again. No. Tomorrow. I'll bring her over early."

"You're such a fuckin bitch."

"You're an asshole." I shrug.

"I'm an asshole because I want to see my baby?!"

"...I said no. Plain and simple."

"...Why not?"

"Because you've never had her overnight before!"

"Then you come stay too! If you know so much more than I do, you stay too!"

"So I can sleep on the couch? Fuck that. I'm taking Sofia home."

"I swear I hate you, Demi. I swear I do. I'd fucking spit on your grave, that's how much I hate you." He is crazily angry at me right now.

"I don't care, Joe! You can see her tomorrow." I shrug.

"Then you stay out here. I'll bring her out to you. Bitches don't come in my house."

"And faggots don't keep my daughter overnight." I throw it right back at him.

He slams the door in my face as he disappears inside. I wait outside.

He comes back soon with Sofia in his arms. He literally throws the diaper bag at me. I can tell that he didn't mean to hit me with it, but he does and all of the contents of Sofia's diaper bag spill out onto the porch.

"Joe, you faggot! Pick it up! Pick it up or I swear to god I'll kick you so hard in your balls you'll be coughing up fucking..."

"STOP YELLING AT ME WHEN I HAVE HER IN MY ARMS. Damn."

"Pick up my diaper bag. You didn't buy SHIT! You don't throw my shit!"

"I fucking hate you, Demi." He takes Sofia and puts her in the car seat in his car. He lifts her car seat out and puts it into my car.

I reluctantly bend down and pick up the spilled contents of the diaper bag. I repack it up properly. I swear I hate Joe. I swear I could just kill him.

I put my diaper bag on my shoulder and walk to my car. I get in the driver's seat and start my car.

Joe's in the back, giving Sofia a bunch of kisses. "Daddy will see you tomorrow, baby girl. If mommy decides to stop being a big bitch."

"Shut the fuck up, Joe. You're gay as hell, talking shit." He aggravates me so damn much. "I'll bring her over when I'm good and ready."

"And I'll fuck you up, I swear. Demi, I will fuck you up over my daughter."

"Stop being an asshole or you'll never see her." I ease up off the gas.

He slams his hand against the hood of my car as he walks away. "Drive safe with my daughter in the car." He mumbles.

I flick him off and drive away. Damn, he makes me so mad. I could seriously... SERIOUSLY kill Joe.

I speed up the highway, eager to go to sleep. This is all too much for me.

In about... Five minutes, I pull into the parking lot of the hotel and lift Sofia out of her car seat. She's still asleep, even with all of me and Joe's arguing.

I hold her tight and walk her upstairs to our room. I'm not a bitch for telling Joe no. I couldn't possibly let him keep her overnight. I'd REALLY be a bad mom then.

"I'm sorry that mommy and daddy argue so much." I lie Sofia down on the bed. "But did you like grandma?" I kiss her cheek and let her sleep. "We'll talk tomorrow, pumpkin."

I don't understand how me and Joe can fight so bad like that, but I still love him. I love him with all of my heart. He makes me so angry, but I LOVE him.

I take off my shorts to get ready for bed. Just as I start to take off my bra, there's a knock at my door.

It's probably housekeeping. They tend to come late at night. For what reason, I do not know.

I'll open the door an tell then I'm not interested.

I open up my door slightly so that my underwear aren't exposed. "I don't need..."

I'm interrupted by the forceful pushing open of the door. It doesn't hurt, it just takes me by surprise.

Joe walks in my room, angrily. I think he's going to kill me or something.

He pushes me against a wall and gives me a hard, deep, meaningful, frustrated but passionate kiss. I literally feel like I'm going weak in the knees.

"Mmmmm..." I bring my hands up to his head and pull his hair.

He pushes all his weight against me on this wall and kisses me harder. I need to breathe, but I don't want to pull away.

Finally, he pulls away. "...I love you, girl."

"I love you too."

"You piss me off so much..." He kisses me again, hard.

I kiss him back, my tongue massaging his roughly. "You need to accept no..."

"I love you..."

"I hate you."

"...I hate how much I love you." He pulls away and laughs softly.

I laugh too. "...I have never wanted to punch someone in the face as much as I want to punch you."

"And I've never wanted to slap a female as much as I want to slap you. But I love you..."

"I love you, Joe."

"I love you too, girl." He strokes my cheek.

I smile and hold his hand against my cheek.

"Got any extra room in your bed?"

"...I think I could squeeze you in." I smile at him some more.

I think arguing is what makes me love him so much.


	15. Doesn't Matter

**Joe's Point of View.**

When I wake up this morning, I'm in an unfamiliar place. I'm in Demi's hotel room, in Demi's bed, sleeping next to her. She's lying next to me with her back turned, her body moving slowly in the rhythm of her breathing.

I used to wake up next to her all the time. I really missed it.

I blink my eyes twice then rub them. I always used to wake up before Demi, but we had this silent commitment going on. Though neither one of us have ever admitted to it, we always stared at one another when we woke up. I never woke her up. I just stared at her. Or cuddled her until she woke up. And if she woke up before I did, she'd do the same.

To keep up with the tradition, I slowly drape my arm across her waist. Her waist is so tiny and slim. It's great for grabbing...especially when I fucked her from behind.

I rest my chin on her shoulder as I hold her. She smells good. It's not a smell in particular, though. It's just the smell of Demi. It's like shampoo and perfume mixed together. She smells sweet.

She used to taste sweet too. I lean up slowly and kiss the creases of her soft neck. Her skin is warm and very soft. Her neck tastes just like I remember it tasting. Her skin melts on my lips.

I'm not trying to have sex with her. I don't want to fuck her. God knows if I did, I'd fuck her real good to make up for lost time. But screwing her isn't my intention. I just want to taste, touch and feel her beautiful body, just the way I used to.

She's so beautiful, it hurts. I take a strand of her light hair and caress it. It's soft and very silky.

Next, I stroke her legs. They're clean shaven and very soft. Her thighs are thick and healthy. I miss being between them.

I lean in and kiss her soft, full lips. She still doesn't wake up. I continue with my exploration.

From her thighs, I trace my hands up to her ass. Her ass always was my favorite part. It's soft too. It jiggles and its grip-able. It's so amazing that I slide my hands down her tight little underwear just to rub it. It's still warm and her skin is so soft that it feels like velvet.

"Mmmm..." She wiggles and moves away from me. I keep rubbing on her ass.

She reaches back with her own hand and swats my hands away from her ass. "Too early..." She mumbles.

I smirk and kiss her cheek. "I'm not trying to fuck." I keep my hands down her panties and move them up to the front of her.

She has her legs closed so I can't feel anything. "You must want something..." She squeezes her legs together tighter.

"Nope... I just wanna feel." I take one of my fingers and stroke the soft, hairless outside of what's between her legs. It's so smooth that she must have waxed it.

She keeps her legs closed and smiles teasingly. "I think you've felt enough. Don't start something you won't finish."

"Oh I'll finish alright." I take my finger and push it down further so that I can touch more parts. It's hard to squeeze my hand between her thighs.

"No you won't..." She shakes her head.

"Wanna bet?" I slip one, and only one, my longest finger, my middle finger inside her warm, wet, tight hole.

As a reaction, she opens her legs up wider for me and jumps up, leaning against the headboard of the bed. "Stop it... Stop it..." She grabs onto a pillow.

"Stop it? You don't want me to stop it..." She's so wet that it's dripping down my finger. My middle finger slides in and out of her without a problem.

"Y...yes I do..." She grabs the pillow tight. "Fuck..."

I wiggle my finger back and forth fast, like I'm tickling her. "I don't think I should stop..." While my finger does its work, I use my thumb to tease the outside of her.

She turns, burrows her face into the pillow and moans. "Uhh... Uhhh... Uhhh..."

Her moans are so pretty. If you want to have fun while you fuck someone, fuck a singer. I'm telling you. Demi belts out the prettiest moans I've ever heard in my life. When she moans, it sounds like she's doing vocal runs.

I'd like to record her moaning someday, just to listen to it every day. It's just the prettiest sound in the world.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

Dear god, please let him stop. Please let him stop it.

I don't have condoms right now. I'm on birth control, but I didn't bring my morning-after pills. So he needs to stop.

I haven't had sex in going on two years. I want him so bad. I want to do this so bad. But I'm not equipped to have sex right now. I don't have any protection.

"...S...Stop..." I whine to him. I really don't want him to stop, but he HAS to. Before I get any more into this.

He sighs. "Suit yourself." Slowly, he pulls his finger out of me and fixes my underwear back.

"Thank you..." I say smartly. I really mean it though. Thank him.

Just like he used to, he pops his finger in his mouth and sucks on it. He claims that I taste good. It used to gross me out when he did that, but if I look at it as he loves me enough to do that, it makes it bearable.

"Why don't you want to have sex with me, Demi?" He's very serious in his tone.

"...It's not that I don't want to." I run my fingers through my knotty hair. "I haven't had sex in like... a year and a half...and I'm horny as hell."

"Then why didn't you just let me continue?" He sits in front of me and stares dead at me.

"...I didn't bring condoms. Or my morning-after pills. I didn't think..."

"Oh... I see." He gives my cheek a soft kiss. "We could've just did it without one..."

"No..." I shake my head fast. "I don't want another baby..."

"Awww... Why not?" He chuckles.

"...Because having her hurt like hell. And I still haven't figured out how to deal with her." I put my hair up into a bun.

"How bad was your labor?" He lies across my legs.

"It was horrible. I was in labor for twelve hours with her. And I had to push for another hour because her head was too big." I cringe just remembering it.

"Twelve hours? Damn. How much did she weigh?"

"She was seven pounds. Two ounces. Nineteen inches long."

"Did you cry a lot?"

"Yes. It was so bad. The worst pain I've ever felt. It felt like someone lit my vagina on fire. All I did was cry." I laugh at myself.

"...I wish I could've been there." He sighs, looking down at the playpen where Sofia's sleeping.

"I'm sorry, Joe." I whisper.

"...Whatever, man." He sniffs and wipes the corners of his eyes. "Thanks for letting me be here now."

I sigh and lie back down. I feel bad for what I've done to him. I just wish I could fix it.

Joe gets out of the bed and approaches the playpen. Slowly, he reaches down and picks Sofia up from it.

Sofia squirms and rubs her eye with the back of her open hand. "Ehhhehhh."

"Good morning, pretty girl. You wanna wake up for daddy?" He holds her under her armpits and lifts her up in the air. "Good morning."

Sofia keeps her eyes closed and curls up into a ball. "Ehhh..."

"Alright, pretty girl. I'm sorry." Joe lies her against his chest and lets her rest.

"She really likes to sleep." I lean up in the bed and yawn.

"I can see that." He rocks back and forth with her in his arms. He kisses her on her temple and whispers to her, "daddy's never gonna let you go."

I sigh at that. I love how he loves her. I love that. In fact, I'm about to cry, that's how much I love it. I'm just worried about how I eventually have to leave.

"What do you have planned today, Joe?" I ask.

"I want to take her over my house. My parents are having this little cookout thing because Danielle's parents are coming in. I'll probably take her in the pool."

"Oh... Okay. What time should I come back to get her later?"

"You don't want to come?"

"I wasn't... Invited."

"You don't need an invite, Demi. You're with me." He sits down on the bed next to me.

"...So? What does me being with you have anything to do with me getting an invite? They didn't tell me to come..."

He sighs. "Demi. You're my baby's mom. My baby mama." He smiles softly, trying to make me laugh. "You're technically my girl. You're my babe. If I want you to come, you don't need an invite. They might as well get used to you anyway. You're not going anywhere."

"I didn't know this was a thing between us..."

"Really? You didn't know?"

I shake my head.

"What part didn't give it away for you? The part where I kissed you, the part where I rubbed your ass, or the part where I fingered you?"

I blush slightly. "...That doesn't really mean anything... It's just sex..."

"Well, Demi. Babe. Baby. Baby mama. Whatever you wanna be called... I'm not like that. I won't touch anybody like that unless I deeply care about them.

"You deeply care about me?"

"Deeply." He gives me a kiss softly and sucks on my bottom lip.

I smile. "Okay... I'll go."

"I love you." He says.

"I love you too."

"I was talking to Sofia." He chuckles.

"Oh... Well... She loves you too."

"Nah, I was just joking. I do love you, Demi." He reaches over and holds my hand.

"Love you too."

* * *

"Oooh! Let me see! Let me see!" Denise squeals as soon as we bring Sofia into the house.

It's a hot day. Perfect for a cookout.

"Hold on, ma. Let me take her out the car seat first..." Joe is smiling proudly as he puts Sofia's seat down on the floor and unstraps her.

"It's good to see you around again, Demi." She gives me a side hug.

I hug her back, "Good to see you too, Denise."

"Let me see her..." She holds her hands out to Joe.

"Alright, alright!" He hands her over. She's wide awake and in a good mood. Sofia is a very pleasant baby when she's in a good mood.

"Hi baby girl! You remember me?" She kisses Sofia on her pacifier. "You're even prettier today than you were yesterday. With all that hair." She cradles Sofia.

"Say hi, Grandma. Hi..." I take Sofia's pacifier out of her mouth. She can't say "hi grandma", but she can say something that sounds close to hi.

Sofia licks her bottom lip when I take her pacifier out. Her round little eyes wonder to it.

"Give me a kiss." She presses her lips to Sofia's slobbery lips.

Sofia reaches up and grabs a curly strand of Denise's hair. She stares at her with wide eyes.

"You're so pretty, Sofia. That's one thing your daddy knows how to do is make some pretty babies." She holds Sofia up and Sofia smiles at her.

"I do make pretty babies, don't I?" Joe says cockily as he wraps his arm around my waist.

"Don't flatter yourself." I lean against him. It feels so good to have my best friend back. He kind of feels like my boyfriend too.

He laughs and kisses me on my lips briefly. "Shut up."

I kiss him back. "Only if you give me another kiss."

He smiles and kisses me again. "Good enough?"

I nod.

He pulls me closer to him. "So ma, did you tell dad?"

"I did..." Denise fished a bottle from the diaper bag and she's feeding Sofia.

"...What'd he say?"

"You want the good news or the bad news?" She holds Sofia's bottle.

"Gimme the bad first." Joe sighs.

"He was angry, of course. He was very angry. And he... Doesn't want.." She hesitates on this last part. "He doesn't want Demi at the house. He doesn't... want anything to do with her."

I sigh. I feel like crying. It's been a long struggle to get Paul to like me. I finally felt like we were on decent terms, but he hates me again.

"...Well she's not going anywhere, so he can suck it up." Joe holds me so tight around my waist that I can't breathe. It feels good though. "Demi's gonna be here. She isn't going anywhere. Forget it. I'm not gonna put her out just because dad is having a hissy fit."

I smile slightly, but it's not sincere. In glad he's defending me.

"What's the good?" He moves on flawlessly, like he's not going to change his mind about me.

"The good is that he wants to meet Sofia..." Denise says.

"Okay, that's fine. But Demi's not going anywhere." He looks down at me.

I look up at him.

"I got you, babe. I got you." He presses his soft lips to mine.

He's got me.

And that's all I really needed to hear.


	16. Disrespectful

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Are you gonna get in the pool, babe?" Joe asks me. He's already dressed in his swimming trunks, but he's not shirtless yet.

I grab Sofia's mini bikini from her diaper bag. "Probably not..."

"Why not?" He unbuttons Sofia's onesie and carefully pulls it off. "I saw you grab a little black bathing suit..."

"I don't really want to..." I shrug. I grab Sofia's little body and take her diaper off.

"But I want you to get in with me and Sofia... Please?" He hands me a blue swim diaper.

"I don't want to go swimming..." I strap Sofia's diaper on her. "I don't even want to be here..." To be honest, I'm feeling very... Sad. It just feels awkward for me to be here knowing that Paul dislikes me and doesn't want me here.

"Then you can go back to the hotel, Demi. Nobody's forcing you to be here. You can leave Sofia with me and come get her later." He sighs, irritably. I can tell he's annoyed with me.

"I don't want to leave..." I sigh. I feel like I'm about to cry. I hardly ever cry in front of Joe, so I try not to. But the tears are stinging my eyes so badly.

"Then stop whining about how you don't want to be here. Damn." He snaps at me.

A soft tear rolls off my cheek and splashes on my arm. He doesn't understand how I feel about this. He just expects me to be all glad and excited to be here.

Quietly, I put on Sofia's bathing suit bottoms and her top. I don't look up, because I don't want him to notice that I'm crying.

"Do you have sunscreen for her?" He asks. His tone is still hard with me.

I reach in her diaper bag and hand it to him. He snatches it off me.

"Do you want me to take you home or what?" He rubs sunscreen all over Sofia's belly and her legs.

I shake my head. I reach up and wipe my eyes.

"Are you crying?" He stops what he's doing and looks at me.

"No..." I mumble and grab the sunscreen. I rub some on Sofia's arms.

"You're crying, Demi. I know you. What are you crying for?"

"Because! You're being all mean to me..." I pick Sofia up and hold her. She leans against my chest and rubs her chubby belly while sucking on her pacifier.

"I'm not being mean to you, Demi. I just don't understand why you're whining about not wanting to be here. It's just my family."

"Maybe because your dad doesn't want me here?!"

"Fuck him."

"It's HIS house... You expect me to just be all excited and stuff when I'm not wanted here..." I sniff and wipe my eyes again.

"...Just calm down, babe. Everything will be alright." He softens up and leans in to hug me. "I'm sorry..." He kisses my cheek.

"...It's fine." I mumble.

"Let's just go outside..." He stands up and takes Sofia from me.

I stand up too. "Here... Put her hat on. I don't want her head to get too hot." I put a white sunhat on Sofia's head. She thumps her head down on Joe's chest.

Joe puts his arm under her butt to support her. "We're gonna go swimming...you wanna go swimming pretty girl?"

Sofia lies against his chest and sucks her pacifier. She looks adorable.

"Are you coming, Demi? Or are you staying in here?" Joe grabs a towel and drapes it over his shoulder.

"...I'll come." I'd rather stay in here, but it'd be a little rude if I didn't come outside.

I follow Joe. I should've dressed a little nicer. I have on boring blue jean shorts and a yellow and blue striped tank top.

We to outside onto his patio and everyone is already sitting around. Danielle's parents are talking to Denise and Paul, Kevin is sitting at the table with Danielle, Nick is sitting by Frankie, and their two dogs are roaming around. I'm the only non-family member here. I feel so out of place.

"There she is! There she is!" Denise smiles and holds out her hands. Joe looks a bit reluctant to hand her over.

I just stand behind Joe and don't say anything.

Joe leans down and places Sofia in Denise's arms.

"Look at her little bikini. Look how cute she is..." Like a proud grandma, Denise shows her off to Danielle's family. Paul looks totally dismissive.

"She's a pretty little thing. Look at her hair..." Danielle's mom touches Sofia's sideburns with her finger.

I just stick with Joe. I don't say anything to anybody. My hands are sweating, I'm so nervous.

"Mom, I'm hungry. Is the food done?" Joe asks, moving away from me to grab a plate. Like a magnet, I move when he does.

"We were waiting for you three to come out before we ate. Yes, the food is done. You can eat." Denise rocks Sofia and pats her butt. I really trust her with my baby.

Nick, Kevin, Danielle and Frankie all get up to grab a plate too. I just stand next to Joe.

"Are you hungry, babe?" Joe asks me.

"...No..." I am hungry. And the food looks so good. I just don't feel comfortable eating.

"Babe, if you're hungry, you can eat. There's more than enough food for you..."

"I don't want to...eat here. I'll stop somewhere on the way home..." I look down at the ground.

"You wanna eat in the house? I'll eat in the kitchen with you if you want to." He puts his hand on my waist.

I shrug.

"I'll make your plate... What do you want?" He grabs a paper plate and starts at the beginning for me. "Hamburger, hot dog or both?"

"...Hamburger."

"Ketchup and mustard?"

I nod.

He puts my hamburger on my plate and moves on. "Baked beans?"

"No..."

"Pasta salad?"

"Yes."

"Watermelon?"

"No."

"Strawberries, grapes, pineapples?"

I nod.

"Barbecue chicken?"

I nod.

"What kind of drink do you want?"

"Pepsi..."

He reaches down in the cooler and grabs me a Pepsi. "Come on..."

I follow him into the house through the sliding glass door. He puts my plate down at the kitchen island.

"I'm gonna make my plate baby. I'll be right back in..."

"Okay..." I sit down on a stool at the island and start to eat my food. I feel safer in the house. Like nobody's giving me the death stare.

I sigh. This really sucks. I just wish everyone could forgive me. I know I did a whole lot of wrong, but I'm here now. Isn't that enough?

The sliding glass door opens again and Joe comes through it, empty handed.

"I'm gonna eat outside, baby. Are you finished?"

"...Almost." I look down at my plate. I only have a small amount of chicken to finish off.

"When you're done, come outside with me. I'll save you a seat."

I feel like I'm going to burst into tears. I don't want to come outside...

"I thought we were gonna eat in here..."

"I thought so too, babygirl. But my dad's being an ass. He wants me outside..."

"Okay..." I fork my last bite of chicken into my mouth. I'm finished.

"Come on..." He grabs my empty plate and throws it away from me.

I stand up and follow him back outside. I feel like dying. I'm shaking and my palms are sweating.

"I saved you a seat by me..." He sits down and I sit beside him.

He holds my hand under the table and starts to eat his food. I grab my phone and scroll through it, just looking for ways to avoid this awkward situation.

"Demi, how long are you and Sofia staying here in California? Is this permanent?" Danielle's mom asks me. I'm so nervous.

"They're here for a week. It's not permanent." Joe answers for me before I can even spit out the answer.

"How do you plan on keeping in touch with Joseph once you leave?" Paul asks me. His voice is very...stern. Like he's not playing any games with me.

"We haven't gotten that far yet, dad." Joe says.

"I asked Demi. I didn't ask you, Joe."

I look up from my phone. Joe squeezes my hand under the table.

"I...I...um...I don't... I don't know, sir." I shake my head. My stomach starts to hurt.

"Don't you think you should figure that out before you decide to up and leave with his daughter?" He's being smart with me.

"Yes..." I nearly whisper.

"You should get a plan in place before the courts get involved." He says in a threatening tone.

"We'll figure it out, Dad." Joe tries to get him to shut up.

"Perhaps she should've thought about this before she even came here. You said she has it all figured out, let's see then." He sits back and glares at me.

"No fighting at my table. Not today, and not around my grandbaby." Denise speaks up and puts an end to it. She's feeding Sofia a bottle.

Under the table, Joe strokes my knuckle to let me know that he's still there for me.

"I don't know why you have to be so rude..." Joe mumbles at his dad. I'm not quite sure if he wanted him to hear that.

"She doesn't get to come to my house, be disrespectful and sit here in comfort. If I feel disrespected, she doesn't get to be comfortable in my house." Paul shoots back.

Was I disrespectful? I'm sorry if I was, but I didn't think I was.

"When was she disrespectful, dad?! When?! She didn't do anything!"

"First of all, I specifically asked for her not to be here. Even if you didn't respect my wishes, SHE could have. If she was any kind of woman, she wouldn't have came when she is NOT welcomed here." He counts off on his fingers. "She comes without an invite, and to add insult to injury, she doesn't even have enough respect to sit and enjoy the food that MY WIFE made. Instead, she goes and sits in the house, like she's better than all of us out here." He puts one more finger up. "And LASTLY, like the rude, disrespectful little GIRL that she is, she has the AUDACITY to sit at MY table and bury her nose in her phone. She's disrespectful, rude, inconsiderate and a LIAR. She will NEVER be welcomed in my house!" He puts his last finger up.

I'm really done. I'm gonna lose it. I'm really gonna lose it.

I stand up from the table, tears rolling relentlessly down my cheeks. If I know myself, my face is probably red, and my eyes are probably puffy. I'm crying so hard my head and my stomach muscles hurt.

"Demi..." Joe tries to grab my arm to make me sit back down.

I shake my head, "This is why I told you not to bring me here. I told you..." I walk a little fast into the house to find my shoes.

"DEMI!" He calls after me. He's still sitting at the table.

I'm leaving. I'm going back to the hotel. I won't make him drive me, he can stay. I'll walk. I just need to get out of here.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Go after her, Joe. Go head." My mom is cradling Sofia, as if she can protect her from all the horrible things my dad just said.

I stand up. I'm so frustrated with my father. Why is he still stuck in the past? Why can't he realize that he needs to suck it up and treat Demi like a PERSON for the sake of his grandchild?

"You're wrong, dad. You're wrong. And she's going to be around, whether you like it or not. Either you learn to accept it, or you don't accept me as your son." I lean down and kiss the top of Sofia's head in my mom's arms, then I walk into the house, slamming the glass door behind me.

"Demi?" I call her name in the empty house. I look and see that her black Coach purse is still by the door where she left it in the first place. She's still here.

"Demi?" I look into the living room. She's not there.

"Babe... It's me... Where are you?" I look into the main hallway. She's not there either, but her tiny yellow flip flops are by the steps. There is a red streak on her right foot flip flop.

"DEMI?" I open the main door. I found her.

She's sitting on the steps of the main porch, sobbing.

"...Babe... Why are you out here?" I sit down beside her.

"I wanna go home..." She cries to me. I don't think I've ever seen Demi so upset.

"I'll take you back to the hotel... Okay? I'll take you..."

"No... HOME... To Texas..." She sniffs.

"...I don't want you to go back home... I want you here... With me." I rub her back.

"I don't like it here... Your dad hates me... I just want him to know I'm sorry..."

"You didn't do anything wrong. You hear me? He should apologize to you."

"I don't want to be here..."

I lean in and kiss her cheek. "Alright... Lets get your things. I'll pack up Sofia..."

She stands up slowly, like she's trying to keep weight off of one foot.

I look down. The tip of her big toe is gushing blood. That explains the red part on her flip flop.

"What happened to your foot baby? What happened?" I stop her and look at it.

"...I got up from the table too fast and scraped my toe..." She shrugs.

"...Lemme clean it out for you." I hold her hand and lead her into the house. I take her upstairs to my bathroom.

"Sit on the toilet..." I say.

She sits down.

I grab a wad of toilet paper and wet it with warm water. I carefully dab it on her bloody big toe. It doesn't look too bad. It's just a scrape.

"I'm sorry my dad had to act like that." I clean off all her blood.

"It's okay..." She whispers.

I put a bandaid over her scrape. "All better." I kiss her big toe. I hate feet. But Demi's feet are small and soft, and they don't bother me.

"Thank you..." She stands up.

"I love you, babe." I help her up and walk her out of my bathroom, into my room.

"Love you too..."

"You ready to head back to the hotel?"

She sits down on my bed like she lives in my room. It's not her first time being in here.

"I guess I don't have to leave right away..." She looks around, studying my room. She strokes the red quilt.

"Anything like you remember it?" I sit next to her.

"You've changed it a bit. It was blue the last time I was here..."

"It was... Wasn't it?" I stroke her arm. I want her to know that I love her.

She nods. "And the bed was smaller..."

"You would remember the bed."

She smiles. "It's the place I spent the most time in."

I place my hand on her cheek and stroke it. "Those memories are old... It's a wonder you still remember..."

"I haven't done anything in so long...you were the last person I've done anything with..."

I kiss her lips. "Oh yeah?"

She nods. She's so gorgeous, how did I get so lucky?

I kiss her again, deeper this time. Her soft, smooth lips glide across mine effortlessly. Her kisses are smooth, addicting.

She opens her mouth, allowing my tongue inside. Her mouth is cool, like she just ate an ice cube. I move my hands to her waist.

She kisses me back with the same intensity I kiss her with. Her tongue glides into my mouth slightly, as if she's not sure it should be there.

I slide my hand up her shirt, sliding it across her lower stomach. Her skin is smooth and very soft. Her belly button piercing tangles in my fingers.

I pull her shirt over her head and she lets me. Her bra is pink with black polka dots. Her boobs have grown a lot since the last time.

I slowly lie her down on my bed. She brings my face down to hers and kisses me again. I stare at her body.

Her stomach is flat and golden. There isn't a sign of stretch marks. "...Are you sure you had a baby?"

She smiles. "I work out..."

I lean down and kiss her neck. "I'll work you out..." I unbutton her shorts and slide my hand down the front of her underwear. She's already wet around the outside.

"I don't think you can..." She kisses me on my lips again.

"No? Why not?" I dig my middle finger inside of her. She's warm, wet and smooth on the inside.

She doesn't moan, she just squirms with me. "B..because I usually work out for at least an hour..."

"Yeah?" I finger her deep. I bend my finger upwards and dig forward and back. She's so damn wet. This is so easy for my finger to just glide in and out.

I know I'm getting her good, because she grabs onto my pillow and squeezes. And she moans that beautiful, melodious moan that I love. "Uhhhh... Yeah..."

"I can go for two..." I kiss her lips again. She moans into my mouth when I tickle the inside of her with my finger.

I slide my finger out of her and take off both her shorts and her underwear. Damn, her body is beautiful.

I stand on my knees to unstrap her bra. While I'm undoing her bra, she grabs my swim trunks and pulls them down over my hard-on.

I'm hard as fuck. I probably feel like a rock.

She leans forward slides her mouth down on my shaft. I forgot how good she was at this.

I tangle my fingers in her thick, luscious hair and rub her head. She takes me deep in her throat and then spits on me. She always used to do this to me. I forgot how amazing she was at it.

She takes me out of her mouth then looks up at me. "...You have condoms, right?"

I lie her back down and open up her legs. "No..."

"...I can't..." She sits up, covering her body.

"Demi..."

"I can't. I can't..." She hurriedly fastens her bra back on.

"Demi..."

"I'm sorry... I just can't do this... Without protection..." She stand up and pulls her underwear back up.

I sigh hard. "You're on birth control!"

"It doesn't always work... And I know that's certain, because Selena was on birth control once and it didn't work for her when she had sex with her first boyfriend and I don't like abortions like she does so I'd have to have the baby then I'd be nineteen with two babies in two years and I'd shame my whole family more than I've already shamed them so I just can't..." She says all that without taking a breath.

"Are you serious..."

"I'm very serious. I can't have sex with you..." She pulls on her shirt.

I just shake my head. She got me all hard and started.

"I'm sorry, Joe. I'm SO sorry. I want to... I really want to." She looks at me while I stand up with no pants on. "Please put your pants on." She closes her eyes.

I pull my swim trunks up. "We're never gonna fuck..."

"Joe... Please. PLEASE... Believe me. I want to. I haven't had sex in SO long. I'm soooo horny... I haven't even masturbated... I haven't masturbated in five months... But I really can't... Not right now."

"If you're so horny, just come on... I'll pull out."

"I don't want to have another baby!"

"I. Will. PULL. OUT. Before. I. Cum."

"That doesn't work either. That's how my mom ended up with Madison. Please Joe. Just... Let me go to CVS and buy condoms. Later on tonight, after I put Sofia to sleep, we can have sex. I'll have SO MUCH sex with you. I'll suck your dick, you'll eat me out, we'll go doggystyle, missionary, on the wall, in the shower... It'll be just like old times... Just please...let me buy condoms."

"...promise?"

"Promise."

I chuckle. "I love you so much, girl." She's so crazy. The way she talks so fast whenever she's trying to make a point is so cute.

"Love you too."

I tie up my trunks again. "So...about that masturbating thing..."

She blushes. "You caught that?"

"You said five months, right?"

"Precisely."

"You finger yourself?" I say teasingly.

"Like you don't beat off!" She punches me in my arm. "I don't have a boyfriend. I don't have a husband. I don't have a man to... Satisfy me. I gotta do it myself. But I don't even have time to masturbate anymore dealing with the baby..."

"You don't have a boyfriend?" I question her.

"No. I'm single..."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

"Really? REALLY DEMI?"

"...Yeah?"

"What am I?! A MONKEY'S UNCLE!?"

She laughs. "I forgot!"

I laugh too. I love her.

I love her so much.


	17. All You Want

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Lets go outside and grab Sofia. You ready to go back to the hotel?" Joe kisses my forehead and rubs my back.

I nod. "Yeah, I'm ready...

"I think my dad left. But in case he didn't, I'll go outside first."

We both walk downstairs to the door that leads to the patio.

Joe opens the door and goes out, I stay and remain in the kitchen until I know the coast is clear.

Joe motions for me to come on outside. I step outside.

Paul is gone and so is Danielle's dad. Denise is sitting in the same position she was before, holding Sofia and patting her butt.

"Ma, we're gonna go head and leave now..." Joe tries to grab Sofia from his mom's arms.

Denise looks at him like he's crazy. She doesn't even budge, except for pulling Sofia away from him. "Say go away, daddy. I'm hanging out with mimi." She keeps rocking Sofia.

"Mom, we're leaving." Joe tries again. This time, he wraps his hands around Sofia's chubby body.

"Joseph Adam Jonas. Touch my grandbaby one more time and I swear on your grandmother's grave I'll cut your grubby little fingers off." She threatens him which makes me laugh a little bit.

"Demi's ready to leave..."

"We can stay for a little while longer..." I sit down in a chair across from Denise.

Joe sits down next to me. "Whatever..."

"Sofia doesn't wanna get up... She loves her Mimi." Denise rubs Sofia's cheek with her finger.

Sofia is snoozing peacefully in Denise's arms. She's still in her mini bikini, but she has a soft blanket draped across her body.

"Mom, you're spoiling her..."

"That's what grandmas are for." She kisses Sofia's lips.

"...What'd you do while we were upstairs?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing much. Sofia ate a popsicle...she drank some milk...had some chocolate frosting... And took a nap."

"How much milk did she drink?"

"She drank a good... Two or so ounces. I couldn't measure it out too well..."

"Which bottle did you feed her out of?" I pull out the schedule on my phone. I keep Sofia on a pretty strict feeding schedule.

"The one with a pink base... Was that okay?"

"Yeah, it was fine. I just needed to know if it was breastmilk or formula..."

"You nurse her?"

I nod. "Every morning and every night..."

"Does she take it from your breast well?"

"Sometimes. I guess it depends on the day. Sometimes she won't latch on but other times she'll drink it from the bottle without problems..."

"See, when I nursed my boys, I had to pump for all of them..."

"Yeah, she'll take it either way."

"...What's the difference between formula and breastmilk?" Joe asks, obviously clueless.

"Breastmilk is SO much better for your baby." Denise gives Sofia another kiss on her cheek. "Do you her anything for her, Demi?"

"No... She has everything she needs..." I shake my head.

"So it doesn't matter what I buy her tomorrow? I'm going shopping for her."

"No, it doesn't matter. Um... If you buy her clothes, make sure they're 6-8 months, please."

"What size diapers?"

"She wears threes."

"Alright. I'll grab her some clothes and some pampers."

"Denise, you really don't have to..."

"Demi, hush. I'm her Mimi. It's my job to spoil her."

I just shut up. I'm just really glad she's accepting her.

"Can we take her now?" Joe asks. I can tell its killing him to just sit here.

"Joe, SHUT UP." I say to him. I want him to stop rushing it. I understand that Denise wants to bond with her granddaughter. Bonding takes time. It doesn't just happen.

"Thank you, Demi." Denise smiles at me and keeps her attention on Sofia. "Can you tell me about her?" She asks.

"...What do you wanna know?" I cross my legs. I never really thought about how little they know about her.

"Everything there is to know about her... Everything there is to know..." She kisses Sofia on her lips again.

"Um...her middle name is Isabella... Which I why my mom calls her Bella... Uh..." I'm struggling. There is a lot to know about Sofia, I just can't think off the top of my head.

"When is her birthday?"

"February 14th..."

"Valentine's day?"

I nod.

"What kind of labor did you have with her?"

"It was terrible!" I laugh. "She was seven pounds, two ounces. And she was soooo cute."

"Did you have the spinal block?"

"Yeah. I got the medicine. It was like... Really intense. So I got it earlier than they should've given it to me."

"How long did you push?"

"Only an hour. But it took me 12 to dilate."

"That wasn't so bad... You said the process was terrible?" She chuckles.

"Yeah! It was... Horrible. At one point, they put me on my hands and knees to help me dilate. It was just.. Bad." I laugh too. I love talking to Denise. She's so easy to talk to.

"But she was healthy, right?" She picks up another bottle and slides it in Sofia's mouth. Sofia sucks on it softly.

"For the most part, yeah. Like... She had some breathing trouble after she was born, but they got her all suited up and I got to hold her like... Ten minutes after she was born."

"Did they find out why she wasn't breathing well?"

"Um...they said it was a little bit of RSV. She was okay to be held, but she had to sleep on oxygen for a couple days."

"Now is the RSV gone?"

"It's gone, but she has asthma that we have to monitor really good."

"She's a pretty little thing..." She stares down at Sofia while she's feeding her. "You and Joe did good..."

I smile. "Thanks..."

"Ehhhh... Ehhh..." Sofia starts whining and squirming in her arms. "Ehhh..."

"Awwww, Sofia. Sofia... Don't cry..."

"Ehhhhhh! Ehhhhhh!" Sofia's not just whining anymore. She's full blown crying.

"Here... Let me see her. I'll give her back..." I hold my arms out.

Denise passes her off to me, and Joe's jaw drops.

"How come when I ask for her... It's world war three?!"

"Shut up, Joe." I kiss her on her cheek and pat her butt.

Sofia stops crying as soon as she lies on my chest. She likes my chest, because I'm wearing a tank top, and she can hear my heart on bare skin.

"What was wrong with her?" Joe leans over to look at her.

"She likes to listen to people's heartbeats... She couldn't hear your mom's heartbeat..."

"Oh..." Joe kisses her on her nose. "Ma..."

"What, Joe?" Denise starts packing up Sofia's diaper bag.

"...Would you mind if I went back to Texas with Demi and Sofia?" He kisses Sofia's cheek again.

"...You're 21, Joe. Go if you feel like it's right..."

"I just think I should be with my daughter and my girlfriend..."

My heart is melting. Oh my god... Joe would go back to Texas for me?

"I'm very proud of you for realizing where you should be, Joseph... Very proud." Denise stands up and gives him a hug.

"Now I just have to tell dad that I'm going... He'll be so angry... But..."

"Don't you worry about your father. You have a baby you need to take care of."

"It's time for me to start living my own life. My life with Demi and our baby..." He holds my hand.

I look down at Sofia. She looks more and more like him every single day. I find myself crying.

And for once, I'm not crying sad tears.

I'm crying happy tears.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Are you sure you don't mind sleeping here, babe?" I ask Demi. After a lot of convincing, she decided that it would be okay for her and Sofia to sleep over for the night.

"I don't care where I sleep..." She sits down on my bed, crossing her thick, flawless legs. "As long as Sofia has a place to rest her head."

I look down at Sofia. She's sleeping in her car seat on my floor in a corner of my room. She's dressed in a plain white onesie to sleep in and her purple pacifier is bobbing up and down softly.

Demi looks over at the clock on my dresser. "It's getting late..." She runs her hands through her hair.

"I know... We should probably head to bed." I pick Sofia up from my car seat. "Can she sleep between us?"

"No..." She stands up and walks over to me. "We don't want to roll over on her."

"Is she just gonna sleep here? In her seat?" I kiss the top of Sofia's head. Her thick hair is a little bit damp, because she's sweaty. "She's sweaty, babe..."

"...Are we having sex tonight or not?" She leans against the wall, her amazingly perfect ass sticking out. Demi is perfect.

"Of course we are." I chuckle and stroke Sofia's hair.

"Then can she sleep in your parents' room?"

"Why can't she sleep in here? She's a baby, she's not gonna know what we're doing..."

"I'm not having sex in front of my baby.. What if we wake her?" She grabs a tiny brush from the diaper bag and brushes Sofia's hair back.

"Hehhhh..." She moans and turns her head away from Demi. She's so cute.

"...I guess my mom wouldn't mind looking after her for the night... Let me go ask." I secure Sofia in my arms and walk out of my room, down the hall to my parents' room. Demi follows close behind me.

I knock once first and open the door. My mom is resting in bed, reading a book. My dad isn't home yet. He and Danielle's dad went out for a beer a while ago.

"What, Joe?"

"Would you mind letting Sofia sleep in here for the night?"

Demi hugs me around my waist from behind and lays her head on my back, tiredly.

"Of course she can sleep with me. But why can't she sleep in your room?" My mom puts down her book and looks up at me.

"Because I don't have anywhere for her to lay..."

"Let her sleep in her car seat."

"We don't wanna do that..."

Demi sighs hard and peeks her head from around my body. She smiles at my mom. "We just need you to watch her for a few hours or so... I'll come back to get her when we're done..."

"...Use protection, please... I love my grandbaby, but I don't want another any time soon."

Demi laughs. "Okay, we will."

Sadly but excitedly, I hand Sofia to my mom. I kiss her on her cheek as I leave. "Sleep tight, baby girl."

Demi and I both turn around and head back inside my room.

"You have condoms right?" Demi asks as soon as I shut my door. I swear I could kill her over the condoms. I already got her pregnant. What's the worst that could happen again?

"Yes, baby. I have condoms." I sigh and grab the 12 pack of Trojans that I got from Kevin.

"Kay." She sits down on my bed and starts taking off her shirt. Her boobs are amazing, I can't keep my eyes off them.

I take my shirt off too. "What size are your titties now?" I'm dying to know. I just stare at them.

She shrugs. "C-cup..." She leaves her bra on and takes off her shorts.

"They're amazing..." I wrap my arms around her waist. "You're amazing..."

She smiles and kisses my lips. "Are you just saying that?"

"Of course I'm not. You're beautiful, Demi." I slide my hands up and unhook her bra. The tops of her boobs have veins running all over them, pink stretch marks on them, and they jiggle. They're perfect...

"...Even after having a baby?" She presses her boobs to my chest, covering up.

"Even after having my baby." I kiss her on her lips and pull her underwear down.

She looks up at me. My god, she's beautiful. I stroke her face and hold her naked body against mine. She steps out of her underwear.

"...This isn't all you want, is it?" She whispers in my ear.

"Of course not... I want you." I kiss her on her lips and shut off the lights.

"Me?" She holds me close to her body by my back.

"You..." I stroke her hair and pick her up. She wraps her legs around my waist. "I want all of you..."

"Yeah?" She rubs my hair.

I nod. "All of you..." I lie her down on my bed. "I want your lips..." I kiss her softly. "Want your body..." I kiss her neck. "Your soft skin..." I kiss her left breast.

She closes her eyes softly and rubs my hair. "...You can have me..."

I kiss from her neck down to her belly ring. I kiss her waistline. "I love you..." I make sure she knows that.

"Love you too..." She whispers to me.

I give her another kiss, but this time it's between her legs. She rests her hands on her stomach and lets me work my magic.

I make sure that every kiss is just as important and pleasuring as the last.

It's nice to make love to her. Especially after nearly two years.


	18. What Did I Do?

**A/N: Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised.**

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

Sweaty and completely breathless, I roll over off Demi's sweaty, worn out body.

She's calmer than I am, but still breathing with a huff. She's breathless too, but not as bad as me.

I pull my sheets to my body and rest up. My sheets stick to my arms and legs from the sweat. I put my hands behind my head and grin. If this time is anything like the times we just had over the last two hours, we're not finished.

Demi's tough as hell. I don't know very many girls that could have sex for two hours straight and not be tired. She kept up with me, and she kept up with me GOOD. She did just as much work as I did, maybe more when she was on top.

"Are we done now?" I look down at her with a grin still spread across my face.

Her eyes are closed and she's clutching my sheets to her naked body. She just nods.

"Are you finally tired?"

She nods again.

I reach down and stroke her sticky, sweaty hair. She opens up her eyes and looks at me. God, she's so beautiful.

"You can sleep, you know..." I use my index finger to trace the tiny freckles that cluster on her nose.

She gives me a slight, toothless smile. "I want to sleep with you..." She kisses the palm of my hand when I pull away from her nose.

"I'll sleep with you..." I smile at her. I lean down and kiss her on her lips. "Told you it was better without a condom..." I hold her close to me.

She leans against my bare chest and rests. "Mhm..."

Midway through the first hour of the sex, she let me take my condom off. It kept sliding off whenever I switched positions, because I forgot to pull it out with myself. So she just let me take it off. I don't think she realized what she was doing. I think she was just caught up in the heat of the moment.

"...Hey babe, you think-" I'm interrupted by the fact that she's completely still, motionless. The only movement from her is the rhythmic breathing of her lungs. Her head is collapsed on my chest.

"...I love you." I caress her cheek, because I can't kiss her. I just let her sleep.

I turn my own head and close my eyes. It's time for me to rest up too.

With my arm wrapped around my Demi's body, I doze off to sleep, where I have sweet, Demi-filled dreams.

Not surprisingly, I dream about the amazing two hours we just spent together. My dream starts off well into the first hour...

She grips the small of my ankle instead of moaning. She doesn't take me out of her mouth, instead she takes me deeper in her throat.

I rest my hands on her soft, sweet thighs and keep them parted for myself.

Her nails dig into my ankle when I put my tongue inside her tight, wet hole. All the while, she doesn't stop doing what she's doing with her mouth.

Slowly and rhythmically, she sucks me off, working her tongue from base to tip. She could be a professional at this.

What I love most about her is that she's an amazing, amazing lover. She'll try anything, and she can keep up with me. She's the only woman I've ever fucked like we were in a porno. When I opted to try 69, she was definitely alright with it.

I wiggle my tongue fast inside of her. That's it for her. Instead of grabbing my ankle, she finally stops sucking me off and moans just one of her incredibly sexy moans.

"Ooooohhh..." She arches her back inward, pushing the lower half of her body into me some more.

I smirk. "You like that..." I slip my tongue back in and wiggle it faster, like I'm her personal vibrator.

On impulse, she sits completely up, now sitting on my face. I don't mind it. I love it. I use the flat head of my tongue and massage every part of her sweet cunt. She moans more and more.

"Mmmm... Mmmmm..." Her moans are getting less and less frequent, so I know she's about done with this position.

Taking the hint, I give her three last kisses on the outside part and carefully move her forward. She takes it upon herself and sits on the bed next to me, kissing my lips as if they're the last thing she'll ever kiss.

"Where's the bag?" She asks between kisses, her soft breath catching in her own gasping throat.

With my lips still pressed to hers, I reach over to my dresser and grab the small packet. I tear it open with my fingers and pull away from her mouth, finally.

I look down to make sure I slide the condom on right. It fits snugly.

She kisses my lips again, this time shoving her tongue in my mouth. I tongue her back and pull her by her thighs onto my lap.

I reach down with my two fingers to make sure she's still wet. Sure enough, it's slimy and slick around her groin.

She takes it upon herself to reach down and put me inside of her. Her pussy's so tight... Just like I remember it.

"Ohhhh god..." She burrows her beautiful face into the crook of my neck and rests her soft hands on my back.

I wrap my arms around her waist, resting my hands on her enormous ass. I move her upwards first, slowly so she can get used to it.

She moves right with me, harder and grinding down with force. I don't believe it's been a year and a half since she's had sex. She's treating me like she's fucked me every day for the past year and a half.

I tighten my arms around her waist and move her faster, bouncing up and down on my erection. She moans in my ear and bounces with me. "Uuhhhh..."

Her boobs bounce with her body, looking completely tempting. They're so much bigger than the last time... I just have to taste one.

I use my tongue and flicker it fast across her nipple. She digs her fingernails into my back and rides me harder and faster, bringing her chest closer to me every time she comes back down.

I reach down and tease her clit with my thumb to make sure she stays wet. That drives her WILD.

"Uh! Ohh god... Oh god..." Her moaning is so pretty, it sounds like she's singing a song to me. "I'm gonna...I'm gonna uhhhh..." She murmurs in pleasure in my ear.

I know what she's gonna do. I tease her with my thumb faster, just to make sure she does. I want her to.

"Uh... Uh... Uhh..." She starts breathing heavier. "Uhhh god! Oh... Joe..."

The walls of her pussy constrict around my dick, so I know that she just came. I look down to make sure it's true, though. Sure enough, it's running down my shaft; creamy and white.

I smirk at her, even though she can't see me. Her face is still in my neck. She brings her hands up and grips my short, clean-cut hair.

"...I missed this..." She mumbles in my neck.

I chuckle. "I missed it too..."

She finally picks her head up from my neck and looks at me. Her face is blood-shot red and sweaty. I stare at her soft, full lips.

I plant a kiss on her lips, and she kisses me back.

We seal off our first hour with a steamy, hot kiss...

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

The only reason I'm awaken from my sleep is because of my bladder. I really have to pee.

I open my eyes and find that I'm still lying on Joe's chest. "Mmm..." I yawn softly. I look over at the clock. I've been sleep for four hours already. It's already five in the morning.

Slowly, I peel myself off Joe's body. There's a lump in the covers below his waist, and I can only imagine what he's dreaming about.

I'm sore. My body is achy and stiff. I guess that's what I get, having sex for two whole hours. It was amazing sex, though; even better when I let him take the condom off. I admit, it worried me a bit to have him take it off, but he swore that he'd pull out.

I walk naked from his room into his bathroom. I sit down on the cold porcelain toilet seat and pee.

Through the blinds of his window, I can see that the sun is already starting to come up. I'm still very tired, so I'm going to head back to sleep.

I wipe myself and stand up. I flush then walk to the sink to wash my hands. I look at myself in the mirror.

My hair is all knotted and messy. Right below my left ear, I have a purple hickey. On the top of my right boob, I have another hickey. I look like a purple, decorated mess.

I shake my head at myself and wipe my hands on a towel hanging up. I go back to his room. He's still asleep.

In the darkness of his room, I neglect to see what's on his floor and I stub my toe on something hard. Ouch.

I look down to see what it is. It's the pink and grey car seat.

Sofia... I forgot all about her... I bet she's hungry. Oh my gosh, I forgot to go grab her after we were done having sex.

I rummage around Joe's room to find some clothes. I find Joe's boxers on the floor and throw them on. Under the bed, I find my tank top and throw it on too. I'm quiet, careful not to wake Joe.

I walk down the hall to Denise and Paul's room. Luckily for me, their door isn't shut all the way.

Quietly, I push it open. Suddenly, I'm not so tired anymore.

I look around in their room. Their room is lighter than Joe's, thanks to the lighter curtains. I find Sofia. She's asleep on a reclining chair in the corner of the room.

I walk over to her and look at her. Her chubby cheeks are really brought out by her pacifier. She's sucking on it and sleeping, with her hands on her face like she always does.

"Come on, baby..." I whisper really low to her and pick her up. She softly makes a baby noise and settles down.

I leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I take her back to Joe's room.

"I'm sorry, mamas. Mommy's sorry..." I sit down on a beanbag chair. "I forgot to get you..." I kiss her head.

"Ehhehh..." She stretches her arms out and keeps sleeping.

"You missed your 3 a.m. feeding..." I don't have any bottles heated for her, so I'll have to nurse her. "Wake up, pumpkin..." I lift my shirt up and put my right breast next to her face.

With her eyes still closed, she parts her tiny little lips and starts sucking. Naturally, she puts her tiny hand on the top part of my breast and feeds.

She's sucking fast and hard, so I know that she's hungry. Damn, I feel like crap. I can't believe I forgot to feed her. I just... Knocked out after me and Joe had sex.

"I'm sorry..." I squeeze the top of my boob to get out some more milk.

"Demi?" Joe's voice sounds worried. "Where'd you go, babe?"

"I'm down here..." I relax him.

"Mmmkay..." He yawns. "Why you down there?"

"I'm feeding the baby..." I never take my eyes off Sofia. Her little face is so cute.

"...Get some sleep, babe." He gets up from his bed. "I'll feed her..."

"You can't..." I stroke my finger all along Sofia's tiny hand.

"Why can't I?" He's busy putting on a pair of pants.

"Because..." I just wait for him to come see why he can't feed her.

He walks over to where I'm sitting and sits next to me. "...Oh."

"Yeah..." I yawn. I'm still tired. It's not even 6 in the morning yet.

"Will she go back to sleep?" He asks with his sleepy voice. He rubs her hair.

"She's already sleeping..." I squeeze my boob again.

"She eats in her sleep?"

"Babies tend to do that..."

"I didn't know that..."

Sofia's sucking slows to a complete stop. She's finished.

"All done..." I kiss her cheek.

Joe rubs her head. "...She's sweaty..."

"She's just hot." I lie her down and take her onesie off.

"Where's she gonna sleep at?" He stands up and picks Sofia up.

"I'm gonna put her right on this beanbag chair." I fluff out the chair to make sure it's soft and grab a thin blanket from her diaper bag.

"Okay..." He kisses her cheek and lies her on the beanbag. She sleeps peacefully.

I drape the blanket over her.

"You sure she's not too hot?"

"She's fine, Joe. She just needed to eat... That's all." I stick her pacifier back in her mouth.

I yawn again. "I'm so sleepy..."

"Yeah, cause I wore you out." He laughs and holds me around my waist.

"You mean I wore YOU out." I laugh back and let him hold me.

He laughs in my ear and kisses my cheek. "Well did you like it?"

"I loved it..."

"Was it good?"

"It was very good..."

"You told me my dick was big." He kisses my cheek.

"I did not!"

"Yeah you did." He laughs. "I asked you if you felt my dick..." He kisses my cheek. "You were like yeah." He rubs my back. "I asked you what it felt like..." He kisses my lips. "You said it felt big."

"...You're so embarrassing!"

He laughs some more. "You went crazy after I took that condom off."

I roll my eyes and smile. "...Speaking of condoms... You pulled out, right?"

"No..." He kisses my cheek.

Did I hear that right? Did he say NO?

"NO?"

"No... I told you I was cuming... You said go head..." He kisses my forehead.

"NO I DIDN'T!" I pull away from him.

"Demi, yes you did..."

"JOE, NO I DIDN'T! WHY WOULD I TELL YOU..."

"Demi, I swear you did. When I was doing it from the back... I slowed down and you freaked out on me for slowing down and I told you I was slowing down because I was gonna cum. And you said 'who cares.' Then I sped back up, and I warned you AGAIN that I was cuming. And you said 'go head baby, just don't stop.' So I came."

"WHY WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME?!"

"Because you told me to?"

"NO!" I shake my head and the tears are already about to spill over. I kneel down against his bed and just sob. "I told you not to..." I hiccup. "You swore you'd pull it out..."

"...Baby, it's not that big of a deal... It's just a baby... If you get pregnant..." He sits by me and rubs my back.

"GET OFF ME!" I can't stop crying. Oh my god, what did I do... What did I do... What did I do...

"Demi..." He strokes my back.

"Stop it!" I push him away. "Go away!"

"I'm not gonna go away..." He holds me tight. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"I told you to pull out..." I shake my head and keep sobbing. "My mom is gonna hate me..."

"Shhh... Shhh... It's okay... I bet you're not pregnant. You're on birth control..."

"I don't care! It can fail!"

"You're not lucky enough to be the .1% that fails, baby girl. I promise you're not pregnant..." He rubs my back and comforts me. I can tell that he's sorry, but I'm still absolutely pissed.

I really hope I'm not pregnant.

Jesus Christ, I don't want another Sofia.


	19. Awkward

**Joe's Point of View.**

It took a lot of comforting and rubbing on Demi to get her to go back to sleep. At first she wouldn't talk to me at all, because she's really upset that she could be pregnant again.

I really don't think she is. If she takes her birth control as faithfully as she says she does, then she's not pregnant.

I kind of wish she was, though. I'd love for her to have another one of my babies. This time, I could be there as it happens. Be there as her belly grows, as we see the first ultrasound, hear the heartbeat... Dammit, I wish I could've been there for all that.

I truly don't think she is, but if she is pregnant again, I wouldn't mind. In fact, I'd be overjoyed.

She's been asleep for three hours now, and I've just been sitting here with her, stroking her hair and kissing her every now and again. I'm not tired anymore.

Sofia's been asleep too. She makes a noise occasionally, but she remains asleep. She snores a little, and I think it's very cute.

The whole time I've been laying here with her, I've been just thinking. Thinking about how much I love her. Thinking about how much I don't want to let her go. Thinking about what's gonna happen when I go back to Texas with her.

I think I want to really be with her. Be with her as in buy a little two bedroom house that me, her and Sofia can share. Propose to her. And be with her for the rest of my life, like Kevin and Danielle are committed to each other.

I'm having second thoughts about going to Texas, though. I mean, all my family is here in California. Would it be too much to ask of her to move to California with me?

To parish my thoughts, my alarm clock starts going off. It's not a loud alarm clock. It's very quiet, but loud enough to wake me up. It means it's time to get up for the day.

"...Demi?... Babe, wake up..." I put my hand on her arm and shake her softly. "Wake up..."

"Mmmm..." She moves her head off my pillow and settles in to fall back asleep.

"No, baby... Wake up. It's time to get up..." I kiss her on her lips. "It's 9:00 babe."

"Mmmmm... Hmmm mmm." She shakes we head and remains asleep.

I guess she can sleep for a little while longer. I'm not even sure when my mom wants to leave.

I lean down and kiss Demi on her cheek. "Sleep tight, baby." I get out of my bed and leave her in it to sleep. I even pull covers over her to make sure she's warm.

I don't know much about caring for a baby, but Sofia might want some breakfast, so when I get out of my bed, I reach down and grab her from her makeshift bed on my beanbag chair.

"Ehhhehh... Ehhh..." She moans a little baby moan and thumps her tiny head down on my chest. "Ehh..."

"Shhh..." I kiss her softly on top of her head. Her thick hair sticks to my lips.

"Pppppbttt." She blows spit bubbles out of her mouth and turns her head so that she's facing the inside of my arm. I don't think I've ever felt this kind of love before.

"Come on, honey. Let's go see what grandma's doing." I hold her in my arms so tight that not even the strongest body builder could take her from me.

I walk downstairs to the kitchen to see if my mom is making breakfast or anything.

When I walk past my living room to get to the kitchen, I notice that Kevin and Danielle are together, watching TV in the living room. "Morning Kev, morning Dani." I wave with one hand.

"You have the baby?" Danielle's voice lights up, excitedly.

"Yeah, she's right here." I take the hint and go into the living room. I sit down on the couch next to her.

"Let me hold her..." She holds her hands out. "Please?"

I sigh. Babies don't stand a chance in my family. She's my daughter, and I haven't even held her for more than ten minutes at a time. "Give her back. She's enjoying daddy time." I hand her over to Danielle.

Dani lets her lie on her chest while she pats her butt. "She's soooo cute." She grabs Sofia's hand and holds it. "Kevin, don't you want one?"

"I'd take one..." Kevin kisses Sofia's cheek. "I just can't believe Joe has her." They are both doting on Sofia, and it's kind of making me jealous.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I grab Sofia's foot and stroke her soft, tiny toes. Her toenails are painted pink.

"Weren't you the one that always said you didn't want kids? You hated kids. Now you're all antsy anytime she's away from you..." He touches Sofia's toes too.

"It's different now..." I rub Sofia's chubby little thighs. Her legs are pale white with a slight golden contrast. Her legs are very, very chubby. So chubby, that she has three chunky rings in each of them.

"Why is it different?" Danielle asks me. She keeps patting Sofia's butt.

"Because I know what it's like to be a daddy now. And I love it. I love her."

"Where's Demi?" Kevin asks.

"She's upstairs. Sleep."

"So you're on baby duty?"

"Yeah. And if I don't do a good job, Demi will never let me take care of her on my own. So give her here." I hold my arms back out to Danielle.

"But she's so cute..." She rubs Sofia's back. "I'd have a baby right now if it was guaranteed to look like Sofia."

"Then why don't you and Kevin have a baby?"

"Because I want yours. I want a Sofia." Sofia keeps her head on Danielle's chest, but moves her diaper-padded butt.

"Danielle, give me my daughter. You can't have her." I laugh a little bit, but I'm very serious.

"You don't want her, Joe. You never wanted kids, remember?" She laughs. She's joking, and it's nice that she thinks Sofia is just that cute.

It kind of makes me afraid to take Sofia out in public or anything. Because she is such a beautiful little baby, people might try and kidnap her. I know I probably sound crazy, but I'm gonna hire her a bodyguard. Better safe than sorry.

"You'll have to fight Demi for her." I grab a diaper and some wipes from Sofia's diaper bag.

Dani sighs. "Okay... Here. Take her. But I want her back. You can change her but give her back."

"I'll think about it." I take Sofia off her chest.

"Ehhhehh...ehhh..." She whines like she's about to start some serious crying.

"See? She loves Aunt Danielle." Dani teases me.

"Shut up, Danielle." I lie Sofia down on a soft rug on the floor and undo her onesie. I unstrap her diaper. "Oh man... Where's mommy?"

Sofia looks up at me with her pretty little eyes. There are little droplets of tears in her eyes, but she's not crying. "Mmmmm..."

"Where's mommy, huh?" I kiss her little foot. "Daddy doesn't do poopy diapers. Daddy doesn't do poopy diapers." I talk to her in a dumb little baby voice.

She smiles at me, flashing two tiny little teeth in her bottom guns. "Hmmhmm..." She giggles.

Luckily for me, her poop doesn't smell that bad. I've watched Demi change her diaper once. And I think I remember how she did it.

I take a wipe and wipe her butt downwards. Like a good baby, Sofia doesn't squirm at all.

"...Dani, can you go get my mom?" I ask. Sofia has some kind of red rash on her privates. I don't know what to do with it.

"Be right back... Daddy." Danielle smacks my head playfully as she leaves.

"You have a rash... Daddy doesn't know what to do." I kiss her foot again. The good thing is that her butt is all clean now.

"What, Joe?" My mom comes in the Living room with a dish towel draped over her shoulder.

"She has... A rash. On her butt and her stuff... What do I do?"

"Demi should have some diaper cream for her." My mom kneels down and rummages through the diaper bag. She pulls out a small pink and yellow tube. "Here. Just rub this on the rash."

"...I have to touch her?"

"She can't spread it on herself."

"But that's... Weird mom. I don't want to touch her like that..."

"She's a baby, for crying out loud. She's your daughter."

"You do it."

"No. You have to learn, Joseph. She's a baby. You're her daddy."

"...I don't want to hurt her."

"You're not gonna hurt her." She grabs my hand and squeezes some of the white cream onto my index finger. "Spread it on her."

I take a deep breath and very easily, I smear the diaper cream on Sofia's soft little butt and the outer parts of her privates.

"See? That wasn't hard." My mom hands me powder. "Don't put too much down there. Just enough to keep it dry."

"Alright..." I sprinkle some powder down there and strap her diaper up.

"You act like you're afraid of her. Nobody complained when I had to rub diaper cream on your butt or when I had to rub Vaseline on your little stuff because you just got circumcised."

"Geez...way to make it awkward..."

My mom laughs. "It is what it is."

I pick Sofia back up and kiss her.

"Have you and Demi decided what to do?"

"...I'm gonna ask her to stay here in California..."

"That's tough, Joe."

"I know... But if she says no, then I'll move to Texas. I just... Think it would be better if we all lived here in California. I mean... I eventually wanna marry her, mom."

"...You have to ask her."

"I know. I'm nervous to. I don't even think she likes California."

"You'll never know unless you ask..."

I sigh.

My mom is right.

I'll ask Demi later if she wants to stay in California with me.

However it goes...

I know that she's not taking Sofia from me. I'll follow her to the ends of the earth if I have to.

I love my girls both just that much.


	20. Put It Off

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Demi, why is she always so sweaty?" I'm holding a nearly naked Sofia on my bare chest. It's a hot day outside, so we're staying in under the air until it cools down.

"Because she's hot?" She answers me, sarcasm thick in her voice. She's packing up the diaper bag.

"Well no shit. She's obviously hot. But she's always hot. Something wrong with her?" I rub her bare back and kiss the top of her head. Her back has adorable little rolls of fat. She seems tired, because her head is resting limply on my chest.

"Nothing's wrong with her, Joe. She just gets hot. She has a lot of hair." Demi uses a small brush and brushes her hair off her neck. "She just has some thick hair."

"Should she get a cut? My mom could cut it. She used to cut Frankie's hair when he was little." I pat softly on her diaper and let her rest on me.

"Can't cut it yet. She's not one." Demi goes back to packing the diaper bag. "Did you shave your chest?"

"...Well, yeah." I sit down on the edge of my bed with Sofia still in my arms.

Demi laughs at me. "Why?"

"Because! Sofia doesn't want to lay on daddy's hairy chest... So I had to shave it."

"Awwww..." She's still laughing. "Joe's actually being a daddy!"

"Shut up, Demi." I pick Sofia up and switch her position. She lies her head on my shoulder and moans a sleepy moan in my ear.

"No, I'm proud of you! You're actually being a good daddy. Only a good daddy would shave his chest for his daughter." She finishes packing and sits next to me.

"She's my baby girl." I kiss Sofia on her chubby cheek. "I'd shave my whole body if it made her happy."

"It's really nice to know that you love her..." Demi tucks her hair behind her ear and looks at me.

"Of course I love her, Demi. I love you too."

"...I gotta get back to the hotel. She needs a bath and stuff..." She stands up again.

"...Why does it seem like you always get... Weird every time I tell you that I love you? It's like you don't want me to love you."

"I don't get weird..."

"Yeah you do... You'll tell me you love me too... But then you get all weird about it."

"I love you, Joe. Okay? I love you so much. I love you so much it hurts. It BURNS me up to know how much I love you."

"...I feel the same way. But I want to know why you act like that..."

"I don't know. I just do. Now... I'm going back to the hotel to take a shower and give our baby a bath. Are you coming?"

"...yeah, I'll come. I don't like it when you take Sofia away..."

"I'll bring her back. Isn't your mom taking us somewhere today anyway?"

"She wants to take her to this place called Little Treasures. It's super boring... I don't think we should go." I put Sofia down and grab a shirt to put on.

"Of course I'm gonna go, Joe. Why would I just let your mother take my baby?"

"It's just my mom. You know nothing will happen to Sofia with her..."

"I'm going."

"All Little Treasures is is a petting zoo. I don't think we should go, Demi. It's gonna be boring..." I try again. She's so stubborn.

"I'm going with my baby, Joe. End of discussion."

I sigh hard. "Let me rephrase everything." I pull my shirt over my head. "Let my mom take Sofia for a couple hours, Demi. I want to spend alone time with you."

"...Alone time?"

"Alone time."

"...what are we gonna do?" I can tell she's softening up to the idea.

"I don't know. We can chill at your hotel... Go grab something to eat... Whatever you want to do." I put my hands on her waist. Her hips are my weakness.

"...We always do what I want to do. Let's do what you want to do..." She looks up at me, smile spread across her beautiful face.

"You don't wanna know what I want to do." I kiss her lips. Her lips are so soft.

"Mmm... You can always tell me..."

"Maybe we can grab some dinner..." I kiss her on her lips again and pull her by her hips, crushing both our pelvises against each other.

"Yeah? Then what?" She puts her hands on my butt.

"...You have that real nice hot tub in your hotel room, don't you?" I slide my hands up her shirt and rub her back.

"I believe so..." She keeps her hands on my butt.

"Maybe we can try that out..." I kiss her on her neck.

She smiles. "Sounds like a plan."

"It's a date, then." I put my hands under her butt and lift her up. She wraps her legs around my waist.

"I love dates." She kisses me on my lips and slips her tongue in my mouth.

I kiss her back, turning her and putting her back against my wall. "I love more than just dates..." I say to her, moving from her lips to my neck.

She rubs my back, pulling up my shirt in the process. "Is this a preview of what's going to happen tonight?" She whispers to me.

"...More like a sample." I move from her neck to kissing her chest. I glide my tongue all along the tops of her boobs from her tank top. I pull my shorts down just slightly, enough to pull my dick out.

"Mmm... Am I allowed to tell you if I want more or not? After the sample?" She sloppily kisses my neck too.

"Sure..." I smirk and pull both her shorts and underwear to the side. "I'm positive you'll want more though..."

"Depends on if I like it..."

"You'll love it." I go inside of her, keeping her back against my wall.

She slides down slightly, and braces herself against the wall. Her legs are still wrapped around my waist, but I'm still in her real deep. "Mmmmm..."

I bury my face in her chest, sucking on the tops of her boobs while I pump in and out of her. She's so wet that the rim of my shorts is already soaked.

"Uhhhhh..." She opens her legs a little more, letting me go in balls-deep. She's like the perfect mix of wetness and tightness. It's so good that I could cum fast, but I won't.

Her soft, jiggly boobs taste like the perfume she sprayed on them. But that doesn't stop me from using my mouth. Slowly, but very hard, I keep on pumping her. Her butt is moving on and off the wall with each stroke I make inside her.

"J..Joe... We have to... S...stop..." She rubs my hair.

"Mmm... No we don't..." I still don't stop fucking her.

"Ye..s we do. We... do... N...ot in front of S...Sofia..."

"She's sleep..." I keep sucking on her boobs.

"If we keep going, I'll wake her up. I'll wake her up..."

I sigh. "Fine." I kiss her on her lips. "I love you though."

"I love you too..." She smiles at me.

I pull out and pull my pants back up to my waist. I can still feel her wetness on both my dick and my shorts.

"I'm sorry we couldn't finish, baby." She strokes my face apologetically. "But I loved the sample..."

"It's alright, babe." I kiss her cheek. I'm not mad at her or anything. "We still have later."

She adjusts her shorts and underwear and fixes her hair. I left two new hickeys on her boobs. "Damn you..."

"Just marking my territory." I chuckle. I guess now would be an okay time to ask her.

"You suck." She walks over to my bed to pick up Sofia.

I watch her as she walks. I never thought someone could be so sexy, beautiful and amazing at the same time. She takes my breath away in the most literal sense.

"...Demi?" I keep watching her. She picks up Sofia, clearly in love with her. She handles our baby so well. Definitely wife material.

"Yes?" She bends down to strap Sofia in her car seat.

"...I..." All of a sudden, I chicken out of asking. "I love you."

She smiles again. "I love you too, babe."

Why can't I just ask her? It's not that hard to her to stay in California with me. Why am I so afraid?

I'll ask her tomorrow.

Tomorrow for sure.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

"How nice should I dress her? I've never been to that Treasures place..." I sift through Sofia's clothes, looking for the perfect outfit. I like to make sure she looks her best.

"It's an outside place, but there are a couple things that are inside. Dress her like its hot outside." Joe's sitting on my hotel bed and holding Sofia up. Sofia's naked and jumping up and down.

"What kind of animals are there?" I grab a fresh diaper and some powder.

"Every animal that you see in the zoo. But you can pet them..."

"What?"

"There are elephants, zebras, tigers, lions... Everything."

"And she's going to pet a fucking lion? I don't know about this..."

"She'll have fun, Demi. All the animals are fine to pet. Otherwise, it wouldn't be legal." He kisses Sofia's cheek. "Does she know about animals?"

"She LOVES cows and duckies. Cows are her absolute favorite though." I grab my naked baby off Joe and lie her down to put a diaper on her.

"She likes ducks? She didn't take after me on that one. I hate ducks." He chuckles and kisses Sofia's hands while I change her.

"She loves her cows though. She'll say moo..." I strap her diaper on.

"She will?" He kisses Sofia's lips. "Say moo... Say moo." He coaches her and it's so cute.

"Say moo, Fia. Say moo." I help him out.

"...Momomomomo! Momomomomo!" Sofia jabbers all cutely.

"I didn't know she talks..." Joe's face is full of awe and it's the most precious thing I've ever seen.

"Mhm. She talks. She says moo. And mama. And baba. Sometimes she'll say no. Or she'll say blah. She talks..."

"She says no, though? That was my first word." He picks her up and kisses her again.

I nod. "She says no all the time. No usually means yes with her. I'll ask her if she wants to eat eat, and sometimes she'll say no. But she actually means yes."

"What was her first word?"

"Her first word was cookie. Dallas taught her how to say it. It sounded more like "coopie" though."

"That's so cute. She's adorable." He lifts her up in the air and makes her smile.

"I'm so glad that you love her, Joe. Seriously, I am."

"Of course I love her. She's my baby. And we're gonna have more babies..."

"No time soon, though." I stop him while he's ahead.

"Someday." He kisses Sofia's cheek again and smiles at me.

"...Someday." I agree.

I'll have a baby with Joe. I'll have a million more babies with Joe. But when we get married.

I don't want anymore babies just yet.


	21. Don't

**Demi's Point of View.**

"I remember we used to sit out here until six in the morning..." I chew a couple skittles and lean on Joe.

He wraps his arm around me and pours a few more skittles into my hand. "I remember too..."

The wind blows softly, carrying the salty ocean air. The sun is setting low in the distance, making the sky various shades of orange and pale pink.

"I remember when you were afraid to come up here. You thought we were gonna fall." Joe chuckles and looks over at me.

"We're on top of a building on the boardwalk. Why wouldn't I be afraid?" I take a sip from the bottle of Mountain Dew we brought up here.

"I wouldn't bring you up here if it wasn't safe, babe." He holds me around my waist.

I sigh. "You remember everything else we used to do up here? You asked me out up here... You sang to me up here... You cried to me about Coco up here..."

He smiles. "You told me your big secret up here... You admitted that you loved me up here... You even told me you were moving up here."

"And we both cried when I told you I was moving. You held me and let me cry on your shoulder while I told you. And when it was time for me to actually go, you cried on my chest..." I clear my throat. "I would've told you I was pregnant up here too..."

He holds my hand tight. His hand locks in mine in a way that lets me know that we're together. Nothing will ever make me let him go.

"...Was it easy for you to leave me?" He looks over at me staring into my eyes.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life..." I lie my head on his chest and look out into the ocean. It's a very pretty sight. "I never wanted to leave..."

"Then why did you?"

"Joe, I was sixteen at the time. I was pregnant and scared to death. My mom made me... I didn't have much of a choice but to leave. If I was eighteen, I definitely would've stayed..."

"I'm just glad you're here now..." He kisses my cheek. "I love you, Demi."

"We ought to head back to your mom's house, huh? They're probably back..." I screw the lid back on the bottle of soda and start to clean up our blankets.

"We can stay for a little while longer. I like talking to you..." He stops me from cleaning up. "Let's just talk..."

"Talk about what?"

"Us. I have something I want to ask you..."

"Oh. Okay, ask me then." I cross my legs back and face him.

"When are you leaving?"

"Leaving here? Um... I'm leaving in two days. Not tomorrow, but the day after. My mom's been bugging me about coming back..."

"...You think you could... Stay?"

"Stay?"

"Stay. You and Sofia. Stay with me..."

"...Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious. I want you guys to stay here."

"Joe, I can't-"

"Don't say no to me, Demi. Please don't say no..." He interrupts me.

I shake my head. "I can't just... Stay in California with you..."

"I can't lose you again, Demi! Don't... Don't put me through that..."

"I can't just stay in California with you! I... My whole family is in Texas... Sofia's HOME is in Texas... I can't just up and leave my family..."

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT I CAN?!"

"I can't leave! And if I can't leave... And you can't leave... Looks like you'll just be seeing us once every summer..."

"I can't live with that. I can't do it... Please, Demi. Just stay with me... I want you and I want Sofia... I want you... Forever."

"Joe I can't... I want to... Believe me, I want to. I REALLY want to. But I can't do that. I can't do that to Sofia... Texas is the only home she's ever known..."

"She's six months old! She's six months! She could get used to it... Please don't take my baby away from me again..."

"I can't help it... I CAN'T help it."

"Yes you can! Demi... Stay with me... Stay with me..." Joe has tears in his eyes, which is breaking me. I don't want l see him cry. "Look... Demi. Look..." He digs in his pants pocket and pulls out a newspaper clipping. "Look..." He shows it to me. "Three bedrooms. 2 bathrooms. Fenced in backyard... Game room. Only $48,000... That's $1,000 a month in mortgage. Demi... Please..."

I just stare at it. I don't know what else to say. I don't know how to let him down.

"It's in Burbank... Five minutes away from my parents' house. I drove past it last night, Demi it's us. It's a perfect little house for us."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "I..." I'm about to cry. "I want to... But I can't..."

He puts his face in his hands. I know he's crying because his shoulders are heaving.

"...I'm sorry, Joe..." I put my arm on his back. It's breaking my heart to see him cry.

"I can't leave my family, Demi. I have a job... I have a job here. You have to stay with me..."

"I want to, babe. I want to. But my mom would never... And it's not good for Sofia..."

"A DADDY is good for Sofia. She needs me, Demi. And I need her."

"I know... But..."

"...I'm begging you, Demi. I'm begging. I just need you to stay with me. I can't lose you two again."

"I'll try, Joe. I'll try. I love you. And I don't want to see you hurting." I kiss him on his lips. "I love you." I wipe his tears.

He sniffs and wipes his own tears away too. I hold him tight. "I love you... I love you..." I whisper to him. I just feel like he needs to know that. I don't know if he's too sure that I love him.

Next thing on my agenda...

Convince my mom to let me and Sofia stay in California.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Did she have fun?" I ask my mom as soon as me and Demi walk through the door. I'm surprised how much I missed Sofia.

"She had a lot of fun. She especially enjoyed seeing the cows. But she had a bit of an accident..." My mom shuts the door behind us.

"Oh my... What happened?" Demi's eyes widen slightly. I can't wait to hear her tell me she told me so about the petting zoo being dangerous.

"One of the glass bottles she held to feed a goat shattered and cut her. She was a little trooper though. It wasn't too bad."

"Where'd it cut her at?" Demi starts with the questions. I can tell she's going to ask a lot.

"It came up and cut her on her cheek. It's nothing too serious. I cleaned it out. It's not deep."

"Why feed a goat from a glass bottle?"

"I asked if they had plastic, and they didn't. It just so happened that when I went to give the bottle back, it shattered."

"...As long as she's okay."

I go into the living room to see her. She's probably napping.

When I walk in, Danielle is sitting on the couch with Sofia in her arms. Sofia is asleep on her chest.

"Let me see her, Dani. Give her here..." I hold my arms out to her. I look back at Demi for a moment. She looks surprisingly calm. But if I know Demi at all, I know that she's probably seething.

Reluctantly, Danielle hands Sofia to me. She has a bright pink bandaid on her left cheek and she's sleeping peacefully.

"Hi beautiful. Hi gorgeous..." It probably sounds crazy, but I feel very complete with her in my arms. And I feel where Demi's coming from if she's mad about Sofia getting cut. "I missed you..."

Sofia moans and moves her arms. "Ehh..."

"How long have you had her, Dani?" Demi asks, brushing Sofia's thick hair forward with her hand.

"I've been sitting with her for almost an hour. Maybe longer."

"Okay. Has she pooped? Or peed? Or eaten?"

"I fed her when she got home. She went pee."

"Thank you, Dani."

"No problem. She's precious. I can't wait to have my own..."

"You can have her whenever she's cranky." Demi laughs and takes Sofia from my arms.

Sofia opens up her eyes and yawns. "Ehhhh..."

"Good morning beautiful lady.

Good morning. Mommy missed you... You miss me?" Demi kisses Sofia's lips.

Sofia smiles at her and its the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. We have such a beautiful little girl. "Hehhh..."

"What'd you see? What'd you see at the zoo today, mamas? Did you see moo moo? Hmm? Did you see moo moo?" She kisses Sofia's lips again.

"...moomooomooo..."

"You saw moo moo?"

"Oooooomooo..."

I kiss Sofia's bandaged cheek. "You need a bath, pretty girl." I hold her against my chest and use my hand to support underneath her chubby body. "Can we give her a bath, Demi? Did you grab her bath stuff from the hotel?"

"Yeah, I think I grabbed it. Do you have a shallow sink we can put her in?"

"Yeah, the kitchen sink. We can bath her in there." I take Sofia into my kitchen. Demi follows me.

"Start the water, I'll undress her." Demi says to me. She starts taking Sofia's clothes off.

"Dani, will you grab me a wash cloth and a towel from the cupboard upstairs?!" I yell into the living room. The bathwater I made seems like it's warm enough. I squeeze a little bit of the baby body wash that Demi brought into the water to make bubbles.

"Ready?" Demi asks.

"Yeah. Hand me the naked baby." I hold my hands out.

Demi passes naked Sofia to me.

Sofia's curled up in a little ball, obviously cold. I just hold her there in mid-air in a curled up ball of naked baby.

"You don't like being nakey, do you?" I hold her so that she's facing me. Her knees are tucked in to her chest.

"Ehhhh..." She looks at me with her pretty eyes pokes out her lip.

"Okay, okay." I slowly put her into the sink, leaning her up against the corner of the sink.

"There we go..." Demi comes over and rubs the water all over her belly. "You're warm now..."

"Daddy sure hopes she keeps hating being naked. At least until she's 35."

"Please don't be one of those overprotective dads." Demi starts by washing Sofia's hair.

"I told you, I'm getting her a bodyguard. I swear to god, Demi. I'm hiring someone to guard her." I grab one of Sofia's feet and rub it.

Danielle comes into the kitchen and drops off the towel and washrag. "...Joe. I can't believe you're touching a foot! You HATE feet... You SWORE that you'd never touch another pair of feet..."

"Look, the daddy thing changed everything for me." I stroke Sofia's little foot and I even kiss it. Her feet don't bother me.

Suddenly, Demi's phone rings. She looks down at the caller ID. "...I'll be right back. Finish her up." She takes her phone and leaves out the room.

Sofia's eyes trace Demi as she leaves. "Muhmuhmuh..."

"Mommy's coming back... She'll be back." I pick up the wash cloth and put some body wash on it. I start scrubbing Sofia's body with it.

"Who would've ever thought that you would make a pretty good dad..." Danielle leans against the countertop and watches me bathe Sofia.

"I love her, Dani. I just love her, you know? It's a different kind of love too. Totally different." I wash between Sofia's legs very, very carefully. I really don't want to do it.

"You even sound like a dad." She taps me on my arm.

"I wish she was a boy, to be honest." I mumble.

"You wish she was a boy? Why?" Dani hands me her towel.

"Because bathing her little... Lady parts is just awkward...for me." I sigh.

"She won't hold it against you, Joe. She's just a baby..."

"...I never thought I wanted babies. But I mean... Who could be mad when their baby looks like this?" I lift Sofia out of the water and wrap a towel around her.

Sofia lies her wet head against my chest. "Muhhhh..." She whines very loudly.

"I know. I know. Mommy's coming." I take her to the living room to dry her off. My mom is sitting on the couch next to my dad, and my brothers are all sitting on the floor.

"Hey, it's Sofia!" Nick exclaims when I sit down on the floor and put Sofia in front of me.

"She says hi, uncle Nick." I put Sofia on her towel in front of me and start drying her off.

"Where's Demi?" My dad asks me.

"She had a phone call." I sprinkle powder on Sofia's private parts and strap a diaper on her.

"Let me have the baby." He holds his arms out.

I'm a little skeptical, but I guess it's better than him hating her. "Okay, here..." I hand my half-naked baby to my dad. I watch him like a hawk.

"Hey... Hey, girl." He holds Sofia up in the air and looks at her. "You are pretty..."

"Ehhhh..."

Demi walks back into the living room. She has red eyes, and her face is blotchy. Her makeup all ran pretty badly and she's shaking slightly. "Joe, I have to go to the hotel... I just... Can you keep Sofia for the night?"

I stand up and go to her. "Of course I can... But what happened babe?"

"It's a long story, I just want to lie down." She wipes her eyes.

"Demi, baby... Tell me what happened." I wrap my arms around her to calm her down.

"NO, NO GET OFF ME!" She pushes me away. "Get off!" She sniffs. "I'm leaving... I'm going home. To Texas..."

"No, Demi! You're not... You're not leaving me. Not again! No!" I grab her wrists. "No."

"I have to go! I have to go!"

My mom stands up from the couch. "Paul, take Sofia and leave the room..." She walks over to both me and Demi.

My dad takes Sofia out of the room.

"Demi, what's going on, honey?" My mom puts her hand on Demi's shoulder. "What's going on?"

"I have to leave. Me and Sofia have to go home tomorrow... We have to."

"Demi, you're not leaving me! Not again. Please don't..." I beg her.

"No, no I have to. My mom's completely bitching if I don't go home she's gonna move and she's not gonna tell me where to so I have to just... Go."

"Demi, honey you can stay here..." My mom rubs Demi's back.

"No, I can't. I don't have any money, no job, no permanent car... I have a baby..."

"Demi we will give you and Sofia ANYTHING you need."

"Please just stay..."

Demi can't leave.

She just can't.


	22. Decision

**Joe's Point of View.**

"Does she talk?" Nick asks me. He's looking at Sofia like he's fascinated.

Sofia leans against me and smacks my phone while she sucks on her pacifier.

"She talks a little bit. She'll say mama..." I put my arm around Sofia.

Nick touches her foot. "She's cute. I still can't believe you have a kid, though..."

"I can't believe it either. But I'm glad." I pick Sofia up and kiss her cheek. She looks tired. "I think she's ready for bed."

"How can you tell?"

"Just the way she looks. Her eyes are all heavy."

"Oh..."

I cradle Sofia in my arms and rub her back while I rock her.

"Have you changed her poopy diapers yet?"

"Yeah. I've changed one. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." I kiss Sofia's cheek and put her back down next to me. She grabs my phone and smacks it again.

"I thought you were putting her to bed..."

"I'll wait til Demi comes in."

"Are they staying here?"

"I don't know yet. I want them to. I don't want my daughter to go 5,000 miles away again, you know? I want her to know who I am. I hope Demi decides to stay..."

"She probably will. And if she doesn't, you can just go to Texas, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't leave you and Kev. We have jobs, you know? Demi's fretting because she doesn't have money or anything out here in California, but you and I both know that I make enough money to buy her AND Sofia everything they need..."

"I think she'll stay. I don't think she wants to leave you either. "

"You think so, Nick?"

"I really do. I think both of them will stay."

"I hope you're right..."

I look down at Sofia. She's so adorable. She's laying on my side and playing with my phone. I can't imagine losing her.

I can't imagine losing Demi again, either.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Mom, I just want to talk... I just wanna talk..." I'm so tired of crying to her. I'm literally sick of it.

"It doesn't matter what you say, Demetria. You can say whatever. But you are NOT keeping my baby in California."

"She's not yours! She's mine! And what else am I supposed to do? I can't just... Leave. Sofia's attached to Joe. Joe's attached to Sofia... I can't tear them apart..." I pace back and forth on the front porch of the Jonas house.

"You don't know the first thing about being a mother, Demi. You bring that baby home. She needs us more than she needs that side of her family."

"MOM! I'm trying! I'm really, really trying! I think it's best for Sofia if we stay!"

"How is that better?! How, Demi? How?! You want to keep her in another state away from her family. You have NOTHING there."

"...Mom, I... I'm staying. I'm staying here. Denise said that she'd give us a place to stay... She'll give us a place to stay. Mom, I just... I want everyone to be happy..."

"Do whatever you want, Demetria. Don't call me when Sofia is dead, because you're a shitty mother." She hangs up on me.

She makes me so fucking mad. It's like she hates to see me succeed. She won't even listen to me. It won't be that hard for them to pack up and move back to California. She knows that. Why she's acting like such an idiot remains a mystery to me.

I'm not going home. I refuse to go back to Texas. Sofia is my daughter. She's mine. And I'm going to do what I feel is best for her. And I feel that having both me and Joe as her parents is the best for her. Fuck what my mom and dad think.

I wipe my face off so I don't go back in the house and alarm Sofia with the way I look.

I go back into the Jonas's house. They're all sitting in the living room still. They're all talking and laughing and having fun. They look like a real family.

Kevin is sitting with his arm around Danielle. Denise and Paul are sitting likewise. Nick is sitting on the floor playing a card game with Frankie, and Joe is sitting on the love seat with Sofia next to him. She's laying against his side, watching him scroll through his phone.

I'll never belong here. This isn't my family.

I stand in the doorway of the living room, just watching. I wish I could feel apart of a family like this.

Joe looks up from his phone. He smiles. "Hey baby. Come sit..."

I walk over to the love seat and sit next to him. "Hey..." I pull my legs into my chest.

"How'd the talk go?"

"...Bad." I shrug. I sniff.

"Babe..." He holds my hand. Sofia takes his phone and chews on it.

"Don't, Joe. Just don't. I... I'm not staying here anymore. I can't stay here..."

"Why not?"

"This isn't my family. You guys are a family... I'm... I don't belong."

"Demi. I love you. And I want to be with you. If you're mine, then you are apart of this family. Don't think for one second that you're not. You belong. Just as much as Danielle belongs, you belong." Joe pulls me over so that both me and Sofia are lying on him.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that staying with Joe would be the best option. I want to stay with him.

And from the looks of it, Sofia wants to stay with him too.

Looks like we're staying.


	23. Together

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Sofia, we're staying with daddy... We're staying with daddy... Aren't you glad?"

"Ehh..."

I'm a little bit glad that I decided to stay with Joe. I'm just a little worried about how I should tell my mom.

"Demi, do you need clothes?" Denise hands me a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt to sleep in.

"...I could go out and buy some tomorrow with the money I have left. I'll get Sofia some clothes too..." I try hard not to make Denise feel like she's obligated to get me anything.

"Demi, honey... Let me buy you and Sofia some clothes. It's no big deal, honey. It's no big deal."

"...I can't let you do that, Denise." I shake my head. "I appreciate it, but I have to help you in some way..."

"Demi." Denise sits next to me and holds my hand. She kisses Sofia's cheek. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Joe's going to marry you eventually. And when I feel like my son is going to marry a girl, she becomes a part of my family."

"...Thank you, Denise. Thank you so much." I feel tears coming on. "You don't know how much that means to me..."

"Don't mention it honey." She hugs me. "Don't mention it."

I sigh and look around. I'm such a head case sometimes.

Denise gets up to leave the room. "Oh, and Demi?" She stops just before she leaves.

"Yes?" I start rubbing Sofia's back to get her to fall asleep.

"You mind giving me your mother's number? I'd like to call her and let her know that everything is alright if you stay here with us."

"Oh... Sure." I lie Sofia down on the bed and open up my contacts in my phone. "Her number's right here."

"Can I use your phone, honey?"

"Sure. Go ahead.. I just have to put Sofia to bed..." I hand her my phone and pick Sofia back up.

"Okay, honey. I'll be right back with your phone." Denise takes my phone and leaves the room.

I really wish that Denise was my mom. I mean, not really, because then Joe would be my brother and it would be a little weird if I were fucking my brother. But you get the idea. I wish my mom were like Denise. Kind, compassionate and understanding.

Sofia's already asleep, much like I'd like to be. Part of me really wonders what my mom will say to Denise. The other part of me wonders if she'll actually just let it go.

I tuck Sofia into Joe's bed. I'll grab her later. And I go into Joe's bathroom.

"Joeeee..."

"What, baby?" He pokes his head out from behind the shower curtain.

"Your mom is talking to my mom." I sit down on the toilet with my panties still up.

"And? What's the problem?"

"The problem is that I'm so fucking nervous." I shake my leg. I'm gonna be sick.

"Don't worry about it, baby. It's gonna be alright. And even if it's not alright, you have me." He shuts off the water and pulls the curtain back. He puts a towel around his waist. "Come here, baby."

I get up off the toilet and walk to him. He holds me around my waist. "You still have me, baby. You have me and you have my family. We'll take care of you, babe. We will."

"Okay, but babe... That's my MOM."

"Okay, Demi. I understand that. But you're my life now. You and Sofia are my life. And I will be with you regardless... Understand that?"

"...I understand."

"Alright. Now take a shower... And let's go to bed. We have a lot of house shopping to do tomorrow." He kisses my lips. "Love you..."

"I love you too." I hold his hand.

"Oh, babe. I paid off your hotel expenses, alright?"

"You did?!"

"Yes, I did."

"Thank you so much! Thanks babe... Thanks." I kiss his cheek. "Thank you..."

"No problem, baby. No problem." He rubs my back.

"Alright. I'm gonna take a shower and stuff..."

"Okay baby girl." He kisses my cheek one last time and lets me go.

I undress as he leaves.

* * *

**Joe's Point of View.**

Sofia's asleep on my side of the bed. I hate to move her, but she has to move.

I pick her up. She squirms a little and moves her head. "Ehhh..."

"Shhh..." I kiss her cheek and lie her down in the playpen Demi brought.

I put my pajamas on and collapse in bed. I'm so tired.

Demi walks back into the room when she's done showering. She must not have washed her hair because she got done quick.

She's in a dark grey t-shirt and underwear.

"Come lie down baby..."

She yawns real big and checks on Sofia before she lies down with me.

"Did your mom come back with my phone?"

"No, baby."

Speaking of my mom, she knocks twice on my door and comes in. "Demi?"

"Yes, Denise?"

"Your mother's on the phone. She wants to talk to you..."

"Okay..." I can tell that my Demi is nervous. Her voice is shaky.

I hold her hand as a support system. I'll stand by her no matter what.

* * *

**Demi's Point of View.**

"Hello, mom?" My voice is really shaky. I'm so nervous...

"Hi, Demi." She sounds oddly nice. Oddly.

"So... What's up?" I'm so nervous.

"Okay, you know we have to talk, right?"

"Yeah mom..."

"So here's the deal... You... Can stay in California. You have me and daddy's blessing to stay in California..."

"okay..." I smile so wide. I'm so happy oh my gosh.

"But..." She says to kill my joy. But what... "But... Me and daddy and Maddie and Dallas will be moving... Back to California at the end of this month."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes. We will be coming back..."

"NO WAY!"

"Yes way. We're coming back, baby. If it makes you happy..."

"It does, mom. It does. It makes me happy..."

"Then it's all set. Denise said she'd take care of you and my grandbaby until we get there. So behave for her... Alright?"

"I will... I will..."

"Okay. I love you, honey."

"Love you too mom."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later. It's getting late."

"Talk to you later... Bye." I'm smiling so hard.

"Well?" Joe asks.

"She said I can stay, and she said that they're moving back! They're moving back!"

"That's GREAT, baby. That's great!" He hugs me and kisses my cheek.

Things are finally falling into place.

Finally.


End file.
